Meritxell Toms

THE BOXER
The film takes place in Belfast, Northern Ireland during the so-called
The Troubles in the 70s. It starts when Danny Flynn, is released
after spent 14 years in prison for terrorist associations with the IRA,
he returns to his old neighborhood attempting to live in peace instead
of leaving the country and start a new life. After meeting his alcoholic
friend, Ike, who was his old trainer, they decide to reopen the old nonsectarian boxing club for boys, with the effort to unite Protestants and
Catholics just like it was before Danny was imprisoned. Meanwhile, Joe
Hamill, the leader of the IRA, is trying to negotiate a truce with the
British to stop the violence.
Danny ends running into Maggie, his girlfriend before he was sent to
prison, who turns out to be Hamills daughter. Its obvious that there
still something between them, but she is the

wife of an imprisoned

member of the IRA, with a son called Liam, and according to its code
a woman must always remain faithful to her husband, otherwise the
man caught having an affair with a prisoners wife will be threatened
with the death.
While fixing up the old gymnasium he finds a package of Semtex,
used as an explosive for terrorist groups, hidden underneath the
stage, so he decides to throw it into the river. This action irritates
Harry, an aggressive member of the IRA who doesnt want peace
between Irish and British and will try to rise up against his leader and
destroy Danny through his forbidden relationship with Maggie.
In his first match, after being in prison, Danny and Ike remind the
boys who died for the terrorism and Danny quickly become a symbol
for those in the community who wants to move ahead and forget the
pass. During the match he allows his opponent

to hit him, and later

reveals to Maggie that let him because for him it was a relief to feel
the pain in the ring, after being so many years apart of real life, he
says: Its a relief to be back in the world again.

Meritxell Toms

When Harry finds out the community relations are donating

equipment to the boxing club, he decides to put an explosive under
the police officers car during a match where Protestants and
Catholics are together. The murder causes a riot and Liam and some
of his friends decide to set the gym on fire, because he heard the
previous conversation between his mother and Danny and thinks
theyre going to run away.
Following this event, Danny gets involved in a disastrous boxing
match in London and leaves Ike alone. During his absence, Harry and
Ike argue and Harry shoots a bullet into Ikes head. Danny returns and
after his friend funeral, hes kidnapped by Harry and

his men, and

when they are about to kill him the man with the gun shoots Harry
instead. And right after Maggie with Liam in the car, pick up Danny
and they go home together.