The film is about a tumultuous time in Northern Ireland in the second half of the 20th century.
Aaron Steyer murdered at the age of 17. It was only the tip of the iceberg in Ireland during those chaotic times. However, just one bullet, it destroyed Joe's entire family. At the time of the murder, Joe was just a little boy playing football, watching Aaron shoot and kill his brother. At that time, his eyes were full of fear and helplessness, and Allen did not attack this innocent little boy. Both Joe's parents died shortly after the incident, and only Joe survived. Allen was also put in a cell because of this.
After they both entered middle age, the TV station planned a meeting about the two of them, for the sake of their reconciliation (seems similar to Hunan City's "Love"?) Allen knew exactly what Qiao wanted It wasn't a simple "sorry", and Joe wouldn't forgive him so easily. And Joe was too nervous to go into the room and face Aaron in the face of the camera. Joe eventually fled the scene. And Allen decided to take the initiative to interview Joe to seek reconciliation after being told that "Joe is trying to kill you". It seems that the reconciliation of contradictions cannot be relied on by the media. Perhaps private communication between the parties will be more effective.
There is an interesting detail here. Joe's dagger in preparation for his revenge is strikingly similar to Alan's pistol in the beginning of the film. Perhaps to create a "revenge is never-ending" connotation. Fortunately, it was the reconciliation that broke the vicious circle of revenge.
After Allen took the initiative to interview Joe, as expected, despite the obstruction of his wife, Joe still thought of revenge, and shot again in the old house where his brother was killed (already in ruins), but he lost to Allen at first. After Allen punched Joe twice and suppressed his arrogance, he stopped and said "enough", showing that Allen wanted to reconcile. Joe didn't listen, so he fought again. The two fell to the second floor and their vitality was severely damaged. Allen was able to successfully tell the cause and effect of his murder. Qiao silently smoked a cigarette, acquiescing to the reconciliation.
After returning home, Joe watched TV with his wife and daughter. His daughter gave him a lovely smile, and he was stunned for a moment, then a stiff smile emerged. For Joe, he finally unloaded the burden of revenge and opted for reconciliation. This was Joe's first heartfelt smile in the film, a smile that changed Joe and Allen. Allen moved to a city far from Joe. With a phone call from Joe to Allen, there was only one sentence "We are finished", which also completely liberated Allen.
I, who suffer from prosopagnosia, saw their identities upside down in the reconciliation plot. I thought Joe was the teenage killer, he was more brutal and Aaron was more refined, so I thought Aaron was the victim of his childhood. However, looking back later, it was not so. Sure enough, the appearance is still unreliable.
The film is called "Five Minutes in Heaven". It was originally five minutes of Joe's Great Revenge. But because of the reconciliation, the two sides returned to the right track of life.
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