Michael Collins on AllMovie

Winner of the "Best Picture" and "Best Actor" (for Liam Neeson) awards at the 1996 Venice Film Festival, this violent, fact-based historical drama provides fascinating insights into the events that lead to the religious and political battles that have raged in Northern Ireland since the early 20th century. When Michael Collins was born in the late 1880s, England still held a firm grip on the country, just as it had since the 12th century. In 1916, rag-tag groups of Irish freedom fighters rose up against British rule in a bloody skirmish that resulted in terrible retaliation that included the execution of the rebel leaders. In 1918, Michael Collins (Neeson), a soldier during the battle, is released from prison. He immediately becomes involved again in the struggle that led him to become a key figure in the guerrilla warfare: organizing another rebel network that has in the past successfully assassinated many British figures. Ultimately, this leads to increasingly violent retaliation that involves common civilians. Also figuring in the film is a love triangle between Collins, his lover Kitty Kiernan and his best friend Harry Land.