Lars This movie takes place in northern Ireland. It begins in 1975 with the murder of 19-year-old Jim Griffin by 17-year-old Alistair Little (you can find more info on the real Alistair through searching the forgiveness project on the internet). The second part of the movie takes place in 2008. That second part is very interesting because it shows the effects of the murder on the two main characters (and their surroundings). I liked that this movie showed both sides. The acting of James Nesbitt is also very good because you can see his struggle about what to do when actually confronting the man who killed his brother.If you are interested in the reasons why people in present day can kill for what they believe in, and also like movies based on actual historical events this is a must-see movie.

Bribaba Ninety minutes of pure tension as Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt battle it out through Northern Ireland's Truth and Reconciliation program. The protagonists are based on two real characters from the 'troubles' in the 70s, and both co-operated on the script, though separately for reasons which will become clear. They are almost brought together by a TV program on the subject - a bitter and satirical subplot on the vacuous nature of television emerges here. Neeson and Nesbitt are terrific with the former's guilt but inner calm being counterpointed by the latter's ferocious quest for revenge. It's all held together and given a cinematic quality by the direction of Oliver Hirchbiegel, who also made the excellent Downfall.

morbels I saw the film today and I thought it was brilliant. The whole movie has such a fine balance. It fully respects the suffering of the two main characters (Griffin and Little) and still it is aware of the extreme incompatibility in sympathizing with both parties at the same time.Yet, the two characters meet eventually in this paradox: let go what you will never forget, because nothing will ever be undone.In my opinion, that is Hirschbiegels bare pragmatic answer to the moral issue of forgiveness: you can't unbreak, you can't solve it, so move on or fade away. That way, forgiving becomes the one thing the victim can control, while the (remorseful) killer depends on that decision.The phone call 'we are finished', were five seconds of heaven, for both characters, I guess.

rooprect A lot of people think a psychological thriller is when a guy goes psycho, chops people into little bits and eats them. Maybe so. But this film presents what I think a true psychological thriller should be: a story without necessarily a lot of action, without gimmicky plot twists, instead drawing our attention to the complex minds of the characters involved.Examples of great psychological thrillers would be Fritz Lang's "M", Alfred Hitchcock's "The Rope", Blatty's "The Exorcist III", Oliver Stone's "Talk Radio", and now Hirschbiegel's "Five Minutes of Heaven".There are no car chases, explosions, chainsaws, dungeons, cannibals or freaky witches hiding in closets. But through a great script & mastery of the cinematic medium, the director manages to keep us on the edge of our seats not knowing what's going to happen next. The movie starts with a shocking crime, and for the next 90 minutes we want to see how it will turn out. That's all I'll say, except to note that the 2 lead actors (Liam Neeson & James Nesbitt) deliver some powerful, satisfying performances.Oh, and the direction is first rate. There are lots of long, tense scenes with no camera cuts, with the camera moving around as if we were in the room watching firsthand. If you enjoyed the films I mentioned above, I think you'll really like this movie.