Requiem for a Fighter

A Danish man goes to Northern Ireland, in order to investigate his son's mysterious passing. There he encounters a variety of characters as he searches for the truth.

Lucas (Kold) is a hardened man with a military background and his son has just passed away while in Derry, Northern Ireland. Lucan is not satisfied with the authorities' investigation regarding his passing and he decides to travel from Denmark to Derry and conduct his own search into the causes of his son's demise. In Derry, there is a bare-knuckle fighter named Michael (Matthews), who is managed by his father Liam (Reitel). As Lucas investigates, he gets involved with those people and others in the city.

Based on the short film Michael by Jason Gerard, this feature is a dark comedy drama that contains multiple characters whose lives are connected to the story's events. Basically, the narrative consists of two storylines, one is about Lucas' investigation and the other concerns Michael and the issues he has two deal with, including dealing with a fight whose terms he and his dad believe are unfair and trying to come to terms with his sexuality. Other characters include Michael's sister Alice (Newman), a doctor named Peter (Dagda), Michael's girlfriend Emma (Partridge) and two nasty people named Brian and Paddy, who give Michael and his father a hard time while negotiating a fight. There is dark humour and adult humour, mystery and scenes of confrontation and emotional scenes.

This movie was made in response to a great deal of homophobic marches and backlash in Northern Ireland against same-sex marriage and Michael appears to be the character who is related to that fact. Michael hides his homosexuality, only revealing it to Peter, his doctor, with whom he has an intimate relationship. Michael's struggle to come to terms with being gay is one of the main conflicts of the film.

The feature has a few interesting traits. Some of the characters (the ones with boxing experience actually) are introduced with a title card that caontains their name, nickname and fighting record, which is pretty cool. In some scenes with Lucas, his son's ghost can be seen accompanying him. The ghost looks like his son when he was alive, only that it glows a bit and does not speak or interact. Having this apparition is odd and adds a supernatural element to the film. The presence of the young man's spectre might suggest that his father imagines that his son is still with him, encouraging him to seek justice for his son. The phantom is an interesting addition, although maybe it is not really necessary.

Patrick directs very well and creates wonderful aerial shots of Derry. Commendations also go to Michael Miles for the beautiful cinematography.

Regarding the audio, Paul Casey makes a great contribution with the dramatic score and the soundtrack also includes a number of songs by Paddy Nash.

This feature is a viewing that is humorous and also quite dramatic at times. The plot explores homosexuality, loss, the world of combat sports, family, inner struggles and self-discovery. It suggests that one should be who they want to be and not try to hide who they are. With good acting and well-written characters, this movie is a satisfying experience.