A Sense Of Loss

A SENSE OF LOSS is Marcel Ophuls's self-described "film report" on the troubles in Northern Ireland. While somewhat less well developed than his other works, the film remains the kind of piercing and thought-provoking examination that one expects from one of the world's finest documentarians.

Christmas Day in Belfast, 1971. Catholic protesters defy a ban and stage a march as British troops watch on. That evening, a Protestant father watches Queen Elizabeth's Christmas message with his family. Afterwards, in conversation with Ophuls, he denies that Catholics are discriminated against; but a Catholic man (in a separate interview) says he lost his job because of h...