‘Brilliant’ Irish war film on Netflix called ‘even better than Apocalypse Now’

The Irish war drama stars Belfast favourite Jamie Dornan, and Netflix fans have dubbed it an ‘underrated gem’.

An Irish war film, based on a shocking true story, has been hailed as an “underrated gem” and is currently available to stream on Netflix.

The Siege of Jadotville, first released in 2016, draws inspiration from a significant battle during the Congo Crisis of the 1960s. The five-day siege commenced on 13 September 1961, unfolding amidst a seven-day escalation of hostilities between Katangese and ONUC (United Nations Operation in the Congo) forces during Operation Morthor.

Belfast-born actor Jamie Dornan stars as Patrick Quinlan in the war film, alongside Emmanuelle Seigner, Mark Strong, Mikael Persbrandt and Michael McElhatton.

The synopsis for The Siege of Jadotville reads: “An Irish commander and his battalion of 150 men withstand a siege by 3,000 Congolese troops led by French and Belgian mercenaries working for mining corporations.”

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Directed by Richie Smyth, it’s one of Netflix’s earliest original feature films, reports the Irish Mirror.

The Siege of Jadotville holds a 64% critic score and 74% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Fans have taken to the comments section of the review-aggregation website to share their thoughts, with one writing: “Incredible. This is what a movie is supposed to be like.”

“Best war movie ever; even better than Apocalypse Now,” another declared, while a third fan concurred: “One of the best war movies around! I had no idea about this story, a total injustice to these guys, total heroes!”

One individual remarked: “Absolutely worth watching. This is an incredible true story on valor, determination and intelligence against brutal force.”

Another viewer dubbed the film an “underrated gem” with “superb” acting and storytelling, while another gave it a perfect score of “10/10”.

“Mind-blowing non-stop action with great chemistry on stage to the special effects,” wrote another fan. “Riveting movie; absolutely a must-see!”

One viewer praised Netflix, exclaiming: “Excellent movie! So glad this was made as I had never even heard of this part of history. Thanks Netflix. Thoroughly recommend.”

“Absolutely blew me away. Outstanding film and based on a true story too,” marvelled another fan.

However, critics were less enthusiastic about the film, with The Hollywood Reporter criticising some scenes as “near-comical”, while the Los Angeles Times contended: “The Siege of Jadotville valiantly fights to reclaim pride in a slice of Irish military history, but it seems to have ignored who those Irish were fighting for.”

Nonetheless, the Irish Times offered a more positive review, stating: “A highly diverting film that rightly honours forgotten – and subsequently mistreated – heroes from Irish history.”

The Siege of Jadotville is available to stream now on Netflix.