Review: Kneecap


Official synopsis: 
When fate brings Belfast teacher JJ ( JJ Ó Dochartaigh) 
into the orbit of self-confessed "low life scum" Naoise (Naoise Ó Cairealláin) and Liam Óg (Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh), the needle drops on a hip hop act like no other. Rapping in their native Irish, they lead a movement to save their mother tongue.

I didn't have "getting into Irish hip-hop" on my 2025 Bingo Card, but here I am. As you probably guessed by the synopsis, the members of Kneecap are playing versions of themselves (though the story around them is mostly fiction) And even though they are not seasoned actors, you'd never guess it watching them here. 

The Irish language is fascinating and I'm glad to see more and more films using it. This is Ireland's submission for Best International Film at the Oscars (which will have been announced by the time this review goes live, but we're not yet there as I'm typing it) and I really hope it's nominated. It's easily one of my favorite foreign films of the year. If you're someone that loves watching music videos, you'll enjoy the vibe of this film. It's mostly told straight through, with some very interesting musical cuts.

It's outrageous and crude, and might not be for everyone, but this little Irish gem is available to stream on Netflix and is well worth your time.

Grade: A- 

Comments

  1. I hope to see this next month as I plan on doing a marathon of films nominated for the Oscars next month though it is an unofficial one as I just rented a Best Picture nominee while I have another on Netflix that I need to restart and watch the whole thing.

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    Replies
    1. I'm hopefully going to be watching The Girl With The Needle tonight. Still need to see a few other key Oscar noms.

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  2. Ahah, I didn't have "Irish hip-hop" on my 2025 Bingo Card either but I also saw this recently and enjoyed it though I had to turn on the caption, the accent is way too thick. I somehow missed the info that this was a real band who played themselves, which made it more amusing when I found out after I saw it. It's a bit too crude for my liking, but I think that's par the course. The direction was pretty creative though.

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