Alright. You’ve had your big breaks: you were the back-end of the orange caterpillar in the latest Meteor ad and second punter from the left in the pub on ‘Fair City’. Nonetheless, it looks like the emerald isle will all too easily contain your talents. But what about our real rising stars? Does a talented actor have to leave Ireland in order to make it? Niamh Creely investigates…
In many countries throughout the world a government-funded national cinema has played an important role in the documentation and maintenance of cultural and national identity. Indigenous film programmes from Australia, India, Hong Kong, France and Great Britain, to name a few, have been successful in combating the Hollywood box office and cultural imperialism by producing, distributing and funding their own film projects. The nature of these films depends entirely upon the country of origin. Ireland’s National Cinema was ‘reconstituted’ in 1993 via the Irish Film Board and has produced many profound projects over the years from comedy to historical fiction. RTÉ and the Irish Film Board have now produced a new film, Alarm but, unfortunately, Alarm is not one of these profound projects. While contextually Alarm has a notable message about the current moment in Irish culture, creatively it falls short of Fair City. Students of Irish cinema and culture would be well advised to see this film, but as far as entertainment, Alarm attempts the guise of a thriller while earning audience reactions more akin to a cringe-inducing comedy.
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