Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12206 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-03-03
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 102 minutes

Synopsis
On August 15, 1998, an Irish separatist group known as the Real IRA detonated a car bomb in the small market town of Omagh, Northern Ireland, claiming the lives of 31 people and injuring hundreds of others. Screenwriter Paul Greengrass dramatizes the tragic event in the Irish telefilm OMAGH, centering the action on the real-life story of one grieving father's search for justice. After losing his 21-year-old son in the blast, mild-mannered auto mechanic Michael Gallagher (Irish actor Gerald McSorley, himself an Omagh native) becomes an outspoken advocate for the victims' families as they find themselves increasingly sidelined by an indifferent bureaucracy. Like Greengrass's 2002 directorial effort, BLOODY SUNDAY, OMAGH employs a cinema-verite style marked by handheld video and gritty photography for documentary-like realism and heightened emotional impact.

Customer Reviews

A film which is both horrific and touching
"Omagh" starts on August 15 1998 with scene switches between two areas of action. One is the making and transportation of a 500lb bomb from the south to Omagh. The other area is Omagh itself, the day-to-day life of the people in the town and the Gallagher family in particular. These two strands come together with the hopelessly imprecise warning, the poignant scenes of well-intentioned police officers leading people towards, rather than away from the bomb, and of course the explosion itself, which killed 31 and maimed a great many more.
The aftermath of the bombing - the fragility of the human body, the shock of the people, the anxiety of father searching for missing son - all this is chillingly portrayed with deep humanity and an absence of sensationalism, but with no punches pulled either. Gerard McSorley as Michael Gallagher, excellent throughout, is superb here.
In the post-bomb meeting of the families of the victims (the Omagh Support Group) Michael Gallagher's impassioned plea for unity and solidarity across sectarian divides mirrors the ongoing (though largely unchronicled outside NI) efforts towards integration of the immense majority of the people of Northern Ireland. The film then enters the Kafkaesque world of bureaucracy as the victims seek to discover the truth. If the film has an unfinished feel to it then it's because this story is indeed unfinished.

Good docu-drama
for those interested in what was euphemistically called "the troubles" in the six counties of Ulster, and the rest of Ireland as a whole. It basically details the bombing of the town of Omagh by....well, by parties still unknown, and the efforts of the families of those killed and injured to get to the truth of who was responsible. Serious questions about the role of the then RUC and British intelligence are left hanging.

Good acting by all concerned and and hour and 40 mins well spent.

Omagh
A realistic and sad portrayal of the bamb that rocked Omagh in 1998. However, if you are not from N. Ireland or do not have an interest in the political situation, this movie may seem pointless and boring to you.