O Cerco de Jadotville

Based on true events, this film is a shock to the system because what it reveals had been meticulously covered up for over 40 years. The film highlights one of the most important roles ever played by the Irish Defence Forces as United Nations peace keepers. All the more astonishing given the "battle virginity" and inexperience of the Irish troops, and the menacing threat and overwhelming numbers of hardened ex-Foreign Legion French and African mercenaries there to defend the interests of the powerful international mining companies. Superbly acted by a mainly unknown cast, the tension mounts from the moment the troops find themselves billeted in the uranium rich mining outpost of Jadotville, Katanga in the province of Kinshasa at the southern rump of the fledgling Republic of The Congo.

In the background the Cold War is at its most dangerous as the Western, Eastern political blocs posture between the emerging United Nations trying to establish its credibility on the international stage. The civil war in this strategically important supplier to the nuclear armaments race is at its height, and an Irish diplomat, Conor Cruise O'Brien (Mark Strong) is sent to Katanga to handle the situation on behalf of the UN. It is impossible to fathom how the Irish commandant (Jamie Dornan) in charge on the ground can be expected to keep the peace and hold the area assigned to the poorly equipped Irish troops. While tension mounts locally, high stakes and political posturing take place on the world stage, stretching the ubiquitous tension even further. I'm still pinching myself with the realisation that all this happened within my lifetime and never I knew a thing about it until viewing this spell-binding, tension filled action drama. This massively impacting film would be well worth seeing again, if only to focus next time on the drama itself without the distraction or initial shock of the unfolding historical events so impressively portrayed.