This Irish documentary from Sinéad O’Shea kicks off with a confronting display where a child shows off his weapons at hand and how he plans to use them. Then that boy’s mother describes her role in the shooting of her older son.

There’s been a blurring in the lines between paramilitaries and crime gangs with the wake of the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland. Groups that are not supporters of the agreement want to continue their cause, while their focus has broadened to include anything that they deem damaging to their community. The old enemy has been extended to include drug dealers.

The film is a chilling account of this predicament through the eyes of a family with it’s own troubles as a woman’s two sons are on the verge of exploding into violence. Added to the political situation they have to deal with drug addiction, a lack of employment opportunity, and an absent father. For this family and others like them, The Troubles are not over and for some, there’s a longing to return to the certainty of those times.

O’Shea spends five years getting to know this family in difficult and dangerous circumstances. There’s a very real sense of foreboding in this film.

This is a timely story as Brexit looms and the need for a reassessment of the Irish border. A simply told, but extraordinary story. This film shows that post-Brexit, The Troubles could very well spring up again in this very tense area.

Michael Collins

@dustforeyes

A Mother Brings Her Son to be Shot screens at Sydney Film Festival on Saturday June 9 and Sunday June 10.