“Kneecap”: the funny and rebellious biopic of the Northern Irish rap group
Released in theaters on June 18, the fictionalized biopic about the Northern Irish band Kneecap has won critical acclaim upon its release in Ireland and the United Kingdom. Winning numerous awards, this anarchic comedy traces the formation and meteoric rise of this rap group, which champions Irish identity and language.
Filmmaker Rich Peppiatt sets the tone from the very first scenes of his film, which has a “joyfully anarchic and semi-fantastic tone,” described The Irish News . Kneecap, out in France on June 18, chronicles the formation of the eponymous rap group. With only two albums to go, the Belfast trio “appear alongside Michael Fassbender in a highly fictionalized and ultra-entertaining account of its genesis.”
Since the film's release in the UK in the summer of 2024, the Northern Irish rappers have continued to win over music critics and film journalists, as well as a large number of new fans, with their high-energy choruses sung in a mixture of Irish and English.
Awarded at the American Sundance Film Festival in 2024, Kneecap captures the rebellious energy of a group that defends the Irish language, Irish republicanism (opposed to the British presence and in favor of a united Ireland), and allows itself the freedom to talk about drugs and sex in flowery language.
The meteoric rise of Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and their hooded DJ Próvai has led them to perform on the prestigious stage of California's Coachella festival, but has also attracted detractors. And the wrath of British politicians, particularly due to their pro-Palestinian stance and their criticism and provocations against the British authorities.
But where does reality end and fiction begin in this biopic? This remains a mystery, as the director “is inspired by real details of the
Courrier International
