Doc Talk: The Irish famine remembered; black holes investigated; Truth or Consequences (the town, that is) examined
By Peter Keough Globe Correspondent,Updated March 11, 2021, 12:44 p.m.
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Celebrate St. Patrickâs Day by streaming the
Irish Film Festival, Boston (March 17-21), which features among its many fine documentaries Ruan Maganâs â
The Hungerâ (available from March 18 at 3 p.m.). It may not be the most festive way to honor the holiday, but its grim, comprehensive, and ultimately inspiring look at the famine that killed a million Irish people between 1845 and 1852 and forced 2 million to emigrate is a needed reminder of the price exacted by heartless government policies. Narrated by the commanding voice of Liam Neeson (he of âI have a very particular set of skillsâ), the film puts the disaster in the context of European and Irish history and of the politics, prejudices, and economics of the British Empire.