Our take
This untamed, high-octane portrait of the Belfast hip-hop trio Kneecap follows real-life members —aliases Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara, and DJ Próvaí, all playing themselves—as they forge a path from lost teens to unlikely cultural icons. Being the first hip-hop act is their native Irish, they’re met with disdain both from their community who think they are misrepresenting the Irish cause (DJ Próvaí translates to DJ Drug Dealer), and from the British for things like playing the same venue where King Charles spoke the night before and one of them exposing their butt with the words “BRITS” and “OUT” written on either cheek.
The story ends up being as much as about the group as it is about identity, artistic freedom, even the Ireland of today – and yet the core of Kneecap, perhaps not just the movie but the group itself, seems focused solely on the importance of having fun while dealing with all of it. The ride is exhilarating, often very funny, and even in tough moments, upbeat. Hang tight.
What it won
BAFTA
1 win · 5 noms
European Film Awards
2 noms
The story
When fate brings Belfast teacher JJ into the orbit of self-confessed "low life scum" Naoise and Liam Óg, the needle drops on a hip-hop act like no other. Rapping in their native Irish, they lead a movement to save their mother tongue.
Elsewhere
"Touchpaper-recent history is boiled into the nothing-to-lose, dry-witted eloquence of its subjects and their appetite for drug-taking and rebellion."
— Sophie Monks Kaufman
"A sharp and well-made comedy with a better drama glued on the side."
— Adam Solomons
Arriving as an interpreter for a police interrogation, Belfast teacher JJ meets Liam Ó Hannaidh and Naoise Ó Cairealláin, leading to a hip hop act that becomes the unlikely face of the Civil Rights movement to save their native language.
The details
Streaming arrival
Who picked it
Isabella Endrinal is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. She's now free from the corporate night shift. Previous articles have been published in outlets such as NANG Magazine. She's currently catching up on some classic films… if she isn't coping with the fact that the Haikyu anime will end soon.
i bricked up when i saw this movie