+
Jadotville is a film released on Netflix in 2016. This eagerly-awaited production boasts a fine cast, including Ireland’s Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades of Grey, The Fall…) and France’s Guillaume Canet. He tackles an area of Irish military history: the presence of the Irish National Army in the Congo.
1961: Irish soldiers were stationed in Jadotville, Congo, as part of a United Nations mission to promote peace in Africa. In the midst of the Congolese crisis, more than 155 Irish soldiers found themselves under siege from September 13 to 17, 1961. The siege was uneven and extremely violent, pitting them against more than 3,000 Katangese and French soldiers and mercenaries… A battle that seems lost in advance…
This episode in Irish history is often overlooked. But it does have the merit of being told. In this true story, under siege from their enemies, these Irish UN soldiers on a peace mission in Africa valiantly defended their outpost.
An impossible, unequal battle that will require the greatest courage from Irish commander Patrick Quinlan and his 150 men…
The beautifully shot film pits Jamie Dornan against the no less prestigious Guillaume Canet. Very well realized, the story is breathtaking and ultra-realistic. The scenes are gripping: we live each scene intensely, in total empathy with the Irish soldiers doing their utmost to survive the confrontation.
A must-see if you want to better understand a part of Irish history!
