Terrorist attacks are not unlike most experiences. Our reaction to them will revolve largely around our own particular frame of mind. But regarding the overwhelming preponderance of them, at least, we are not “personally involved”.
In other words, the attack destroys lives, but not ours. And not the lives of those we know and love. But when we do become a part of the story it can take on a whole new dimension. And everyone brings into it their very own unique set of circumstances.
Especially when the relationship between those who staged the attack and those in the government investigating it are not all that concerned with keeping you fully informed. Or may well be entangled in it all together.
Quan: “Politicians and terrorists, they are just 2 ends of the same snake.”
You are more or less on your own.
Here the attack is launched by a new faction embedded in the decades old political struggle that revolves around Northern Ireland. Of course they don’t see it as a terrorist attack. They see it as a revolutionary act in support of a just cause. And while these explosive events are often described as “senseless acts of violence” it is precisely the opposite that is the case. Certain groups of people make sense of the world in one way. And they insist that others see it the same way.
If the bombing has anything to do with the IRA at all. As is usual regarding “incidences” like this there is all the stuff unfolding behind the scenes. Can we really believe what does finally end up “on the news”? And then the part where everything is all hopelessly exaggerated “for the movies”. The part where “the Chinaman” becomes Rambo. The unbelievable part.
But, again, each of us as indivisuals become entangled in it all only from our own unique vantage point. Which we may or may not be able to effectively communicate to others.
Here though the victim is Jackie Chan. Which means the plot will go back and forth between the inherent drama involved and the inevitable elements of the “action thriller”. And then the part where we learn he has a “long-buried past”. And the part where the factions involved here see him clearly as a foreigner. As “the Chinaman”.
IMDb
[b]In February 2016, two reports were made to the London Metropolitan Police about a “terrorist attack” made on the Lambeth bridge, after many local citizens were not told about a controlled stunt explosion made on a double decker bus for this movie.
Liam Hennessy (Pierce Brosnan) is based on Northern Irish politicians Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness. Adams was actively involved in the Irish Republican movement, although he denies having been a member of the I.R.A. (a claim contested by many). He later became the leader of Sinn Féin, the political branch of the I.R.A., and was heavily involved in establishing a lasting peace accord in Northern Ireland. Hennessy even shows physical resemblance to Adams (short gray hair, full beard, glasses). Adams was never Deputy First Minister for Northern Ireland. That position was filled by Martin McGuinness. In this movie, Hennessey describes a previous nickname, “Butcher of the Bogside” when referring to his terrorist past. Martin McGuinness was known as “Butcher of the Bogside”.[/b]
trivia at IMDb: imdb.com/title/tt1615160/tr … tt_trv_trv
at wiki: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Foreigner_(2017_film
trailer: youtu.be/r_rSAbYyIq0
The Foreigner [2017]
Directed by Martin Campbell
[b]Man’s voice [on phone]: Listen carefully. An action wing of the Authentic IRA has just exploded a bomb at the OBT Bank in Knightsbridge. The code word is “Phoenix”. Britain’s banks are now targets for the Authentic IRA. The bombings will continue as long as Britain’s financial criminal institutions persist in their support of the illegal occupation of Northern Ireland.
…
Reporter: A bomb just went off, an OBT Bank in Knightsbridge. A group called the “Authentic IRA” just phoned it in. They’re claiming credit.
Editor: Who’s the Authentic IRA?
Reporter: No idea. Never heard of them.
Editor: Christ. There goes the Peace Accord right back in the shit.
Editor [to the newsroom]: Listen up. A bank has just been bombed in Knightsbridge. A group calling itself the “Authentic IRA” just phoned it in. I want to know who they are, who’s behind them. Call the Met, Sinn Fin, monitor the blogs. Is it the IRA, or is it something else? ISIS? Al-Qaeda?
…
Liam [Northern Ireland deputy First Minister]: I’ll shake the trees as hard as I can, and see what falls. But, Kate, this is crucial. We’ve managed to keep the lid on this for 19 years now. But there are new upstarts in the ranks pressing for the way things were. I could use something now. And you know what I’m referring to.
Kate [cabinet minister]: The Royal Pardons.
…
Liam [to the taskforce]: Now, that we’re all here, does anyone know who this Authentic IRA is? Are they even part of the IRA? Some new upstarts, or something else entirely? Hmm? They’re trying to undermine everything we’ve achieved over the last 19 years. Well, I won’t have it. They don’t have the support of the people who said no to the violence. Our mandate’s to uphold that choice and maintain the Peace Accord, no matter what. Are we in agreement?
Brennan: There’s a lot of support for their actions amongst the younger ranks.
Liam: Hotheads. Hotheads who don’t remember, or know any better.
Brennan: You were once one of those hotheads, Liam.
Liam: Aye. Long ago, when it was the only way. And what did it give us? More graves than I care to remember.
…
Bromley [police commander]: You were born in Guangxi, China.
Quan: Yes. I’m Chinese Nung. I work in Saigon after the war. We escaped to Singapore. Then we immigrate here.[/b]
That murky and mysterious past.
[b]Bromley: I assure you, this investigation is our top priority, Mr. Quan. And we’re doing all we can and pursuing every possible lead to find those who killed your daughter. But they’re a difficult people to catch. And it may take some time. I need you to understand that.
Quan: You must catch these men, Commander Bromley.
[he takes a bundle of cash out of a bag and places it on the table]
Quan: Twenty-thousand pound. All I have for the names of the bombers.
Bromley: I’m sorry, but we can’t take this.
Quan: Then please tell me… Just give me the name of someone in the IRA.
…
Quan [on phone]: Please tell me someone who might know the names of the bombers, someone I can talk to.
Liam: I don’t have any connections to those sorts of people. I’m sorry.
Quan: I don’t believe you, Mr. Hennessy. You are very powerful man.
Liam: Well, I work for the government and our elected officials. I do not work for terrorists. Quan: IRA politics and terrorism are different ends of the same snake. Whichever end you grab, you still grab a snake.
Liam: It makes a great deal of difference which end you grab, because one end will bite.
…
Liam: I haven’t been affiliated with the IRA for 30 years. When I was, I fought hard against the violence. I went to prison for what I did, and paid my debt. Now, I serve the politics of both sides, trying to heal the wounds and bridge the divide. Again, my sincere condolences, but there’s nothing I can do.
Quan [noting a photograph on the desk]: What if your wife and daughter were killed by bomb?
Liam: I’d do everything in my power to get justice.
Quan: So, I’ve chosen you, Mr. Hennessy. You will tell me who killed my child.
Liam: Again, I don’t know.
Quan: You will change your mind.
…
Liam [on the phone]: You come to my office and plant a fucking bomb?!
Quan: Have you changed your mind?
Liam: Changed my mind? Are you out of your fuckin’ tree? You have no idea who you’re dealing with, but you’ll soon find out.
Quan: Give me the names.
…
Kate [on the phone]: I hear your office was bombed.
Liam: Hardly. It was the toilet in the hall. An Asian man in his 60s with a grudge. It’s all being taken care of.
Kate: Why’d he do it?
Liam: His child died in the bank bombing. He thinks I know who did it.
Kate: He’s not the only one of that mind.
…
Hugh: Christ, Liam, so, the committee knows it’s my Semtex? Don’t know who we can trust anymore. Do we?
Liam: Trust, or fear?
…
Liam: What’re you trying to say?
Hugh: The bombing. A few quiet words of encouragement would soothe the ranks.
Liam: “Encouragement”? They kill civilians by the buckets.
Hugh: They went a bit far, I know, but they have given us real momentum. The Brits are on the ropes.
Liam: Jesus Christ, I said hit a few financial targets. That’s it. No one gets hurt. That’s what we agreed to. You gave me your word.
Hugh: And by God, I kept it. I don’t know who they are, don’t even know who’s controlling ‘em. And that’s the way it has to be. Because if something goes wrong, they could trace ‘em straight back to us.
Liam: Go wrong? This wasn’t the fuckin’ plan. I needed this to get our people back. You and I have spent our whole lifetime…
Hugh: You don’t give a shit about those men! You needed the bombing to shore up the election, to prop up your weakness in the ranks. Well, guess what? In the fog o’ war, plans fuckin’ change.
…
Hugh: You haven’t forgotten what we’re fighting for, have you?
Liam: You question my loyalty? I buried my brother-in-law, before that, my da and my two cousins. We spilt our fair share of blood struggling for united Ireland, not profiting off a divided one. So, don’t fucking go asking me again if I’ve forgotten what we’re fighting for.
Hugh: If there’s anyone profiteering around here, it’s you, sitting in your fancy houses, cozying up to the Brits. You’re not the Liam I once knew.
Liam: You want the old me, huh? The Butcher of the Bogside, is that what you want? Well then, hear this. You reel in those fuckin’ cunts and end it, or by God, I’ll bury the lot of yas.
…
Liam: You killed my dog?
Quan: Dog’s fine. Just sleeping.
…
Quan: The explosives the bombers use, it’s Semtex-H?
Liam: Yes. Yes. You know about Semtex?
Quan: I know Semtex-H. During the war, Czechs make for the Viet Cong. Good for bombs and traps.
Liam: In Vietnam?
Quan: Yes. Many American people died by Semtex-H. Now, IRA use to kill my daughter. That’s ironic.
…
Liam: I’ve read your history. We both know about war. We’ve both tried to put it behind us. You and me, we’re alike.
Quan: We are nothing alike! You’re nothing! You kill women and children! Names!
…
Kate: A bus now. For God’s sake, 16 dead, twice that injured.
Liam: I’m sorry. I had a plan to nail the bastards. Didn’t work.
Kate: I’ve just come from Downing Street. The PM will consider the pardons, but only if you give up the bombers immediately.
Liam: And how in God’s name do I do that?
Kate: Find a way! Plans are afoot to put the paratroops back on your streets in 48 hours.
Liam: Belfast will erupt! You’ll give the bombers exactly what they want! [/b]
This is basically a snapshot of just how murky these things can become. Everyone has their own personal agenda. Their own political axe to grind.
[b]Liam: A London bus, for Christ sake! Not even fuckin’ warnings! Sixteen dead! You stabbed me in the back and sanctioned this bloodbath to get your war back on.
Hugh: The plan had no balls. This wasn’t a Bombing Light campaign. You said hurt 'em, and hurt 'em, we did.
Liam: By killing women and children? You can’t restrain yourself. You never could. Well, it’s over. Their names, aliases, and location!
…
Hugh [to Liam]: You used me. You wanted the pardons for your own political gain. You’re a disgrace to the cause!
…
Liam: All I wanna know is, what was discussed when your sweet Aunt Mary was with you? Did she say she was involved with McGrath and the bombers?
Sean: No. Never. She was upset about her brother and kept on about that. When you and I were talking about the code word, she asked about 'em, but she never let on about McGrath.
Liam: Oh, so, she could hear us on the phone?
Sean: No, it was only after our call she mentioned the code word. She thought they wouldn’t be of use.
Liam: So, she steered the conversation?
Sean: Well, yes, I guess she did.
Liam: A good manipulator, she is. So, she told the bombers? She told McGrath, McGrath told them. Thick as thieves, they were. She tricked the information out of you, Sean. She used you.[/b]
You can never really know what the true motivation and intention of someone is in situations like this.
[b]Joker: She said a gas man turned up with an assault gun, a Chinaman. Started shooting, killed everyone but her, and then walked out the door.
Bromley: She said he was a Chinaman?
Joker: Affirmative. About 60 years old.
…
Kate [on the phone]: The bombers were neutralized, even Sara McKay, whom you called, “Maggie”. She gave a reporter the bomb that was to have been put on my flight. She also carried out the bus carnage, and is directly connected to you, and McGrath. We have call-pens going to and from her off the cell towers by your farm and town homes. That’s 250 precision locations and activations consistent with your mutual activities.
Liam: Katherine…
Kate: I’ve spoken to the PM. He’s agreed to keep you in office for now. I’m issuing pardons for five On-the-Runs, one is your cousin. But make no mistake, Deputy First Minister, you are ours now. I say “jump,” you say “where?”
…
Liam: How did you find me? I gave you the names, like I said.
Quan [showing him a cell phone photo of him with “Maggie”]: This woman, she’s a bomber. You lie. You plan everything.
Liam: For whatever it’s worth, I never intended to hurt your daughter. Or any of those people.
Quan: Send. Do it!
[Liam taps on the screen]
Quan: It’s now on the Internet, you and your mistress. The whole world will know you are a terrorist. Goodbye, Mr. Hennessy.[/b]