Introduction

Irish Commandant Pat Quinlan leads a stand off with troops against French and Belgian Mercenaries in the Congo during the early 1960’s.

Outline

In 1961, the UN sends an Irish peacekeeper troop commanded by Commandant Pat Quinlan to Katanga, in Congo, to protect the inhabitants of the mining town of Jadotville in the beginning of a civil war.

Meanwhile the UN advisor Dr. Conor Cruise O’Brien launches a military attack named Operation Morthor against the French and Belgian mercenaries.

Soon there is a reprisal from the mercenaries and Quinlan and his men are left under siege by a huge number of Katangese and mercenary troops.

Will the Irish soldiers resist the attack?

Film Inspiration

The film is based on the 2005 book ‘The Siege at Jadotville: The Irish Army’s Forgotten Battle’ by Declan Powers, about an Irish Army unit’s role in the UN peacekeeping mission in the Congo in September 1961.

Trivia & Goofs

• The actors were put through a training camp in South Africa before filming.
• Conor Quinlan, who plays P.J. in the movie, is the real-life grandson of Commandant Pat Quinlan, one of the main heroic characters in the movie. Conor (as P.J.) gets to utter the line, “Quinlan doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s going to get us killed.”
• The commandant’s son, Leo Quinlan shared a radio log with the film’s director–a radio log the commandant had smuggled out of the Congo containing information that even the Irish army had not seen.
• The old, hard-to-come-by-but-historically-accurate Gustav machine guns seen used by the movie’s actors were procured in South Africa. By checking the serial numbers, it was confirmed that some were the very same guns used in the conflict.
• The world premiere screening of this film was held at the Galway Film Fleadh (Ireland’s leading film festival) the evening of July 9, 2016. Leo Quinlan, son of Commandant Pat Quinlan, made an announcement at the end of the screening that–earlier that same day–the Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Defence, Paul Kehoe had authorised the creation of the award of Presidential Unit Citation for the men of ‘A’ Company who fought at Jadotville, the recognition coming more than half a century after the conflict. On September 17, 2016, this citation was formally presented to the veterans and the next of kin of deceased soldiers at a special ceremony held at Custume Barracks, Athlone. (The 2005 honour referenced at the end of the movie itself consists of a commemorative stone erected at these barracks and the commissioning of a portrait of Quinlan which hangs in the Congo Room of the Irish Defence Forces’ UN School.)
• Both the UN force that tried to breach the bridge, and the helicopter pilots speak Swedish. An acknowledgement of the Swedish UN forces that also were stationed in the Congo between 1960 and 1964.
• During the briefing scene where Faulques discusses the Katangese attackers being caught off-guard, a mercenary is seen with the wild goose patch of the Congolese Army’s famed 5 Commando, a white Anglophone mercenary unit. This is an anachronism, as 5 Commando fought in the Simba Rebellion, not the Katanga Secession, and wasn’t formed until almost two years after the Siege of Jadotville, in 1964.
• Soon after the incident, it was widely reported in the press that 57 Irish troops had been killed in Jadotville; this caused widespread alarm in Ireland until it became clear that all of the troops had survived and were being held for ransom by Tshombe.

Production & Filming Details

• Director: Richie Smith.
• Producers: Alan Moloney, Ruth Coady, Johanna Hogan, and Justin Moore-Lewy.
• Writer: Kevin Brodbin (screenplay).
• Music: Joseph Trapanese.
• Cinematography: Nikolaus Summerer.
• Editor: Alex Mackie.
• Distribution: Netflix.
• Release Date: 10 July 2016 (Galway Film Festival), 19 September 2016 (Ireland), and 07 October 2016 (Worldwide).
• Running time: 108 minutes.
• Country: Ireland, South Africa.
• Language: English, Irish, French, German.

YouTube Link