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Community reviews
From TMDb members · 1 total- CinemaSerf7/10
When Brendan Behan (Shawn Hatosy) arrives in Liverpool with a bag full of explosives amidst WWII, he's promptly caught and sent to a youth detention facility in Norfolk. It's run by a fair and open-minded warden (Michael York) who advises his inmates to behave themselves and all…
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Borstal Boy
“As a prisoner of war it is my duty to escape.”
62%
Movie
1h 31m
AI Analysis
Borstal Boy (2001) — AI movie analysis
WatchMind AI generated this AI analysis of Borstal Boy (2001) — a movie tagged as Drama with balanced tone moods and fast-paced pacing.
Story & themes: Brendan Behan, a sixteen year-old IRA foot soldier, is going on a bombing mission from Ireland to Liverpool during the second world war. His mission is thwarted when he is apprehended, charged and imprisoned in Borstal, a reform institution for young offenders in East Anglia, England. Our models also surface themes such as war from synopsis and genre signals.
Watch context: Best suited for general audiences. Expect fast-paced storytelling (~91 min).
Community signal: TMDb members rate Borstal Boy 62% (52 votes) — solid community ratings for this movie.
AI verdict
Use this AI analysis as a quick read on Borstal Boy before you watch — trailer, TMDb reviews, and licensed streaming links on this page help you decide.
Algorithmic AI analysis from genres, synopsis, pacing heuristics, and TMDb community scores — not a generative chatbot. How WatchMind works.
Insights
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TMDb audience score
62%
from 52 TMDb votes
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Synopsis
Brendan Behan, a sixteen year-old IRA foot soldier, is going on a bombing mission from Ireland to Liverpool during the second world war. His mission is thwarted when he is apprehended, charged and imprisoned in Borstal, a reform institution for young offenders in East Anglia, England.
Quick facts
- Type
- Movie
- Status
- Released
- Release date
- 2001-03-22
- Runtime
- 1h 31m
- TMDB rating
- 6.2
- TMDB ID
- 24309
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Frequently asked questions
Where can I watch Borstal Boy (2001)?
Borstal Boy is available for discovery on WatchMind. You can find official links to rent, buy, or stream from licensed digital stores like Apple TV and Amazon in our "Where to Watch" section.
Is there an official trailer for Borstal Boy?
Yes, you can watch the official trailer for Borstal Boy directly on this page. We pull the latest video metadata from TMDb and play it via YouTube integration.
What is Borstal Boy about?
Brendan Behan, a sixteen year-old IRA foot soldier, is going on a bombing mission from Ireland to Liverpool during the second world war. His mission is thwarted when he is apprehended, charged and ... This is the official synopsis available via TMDb community metadata.
Is there an AI analysis for Borstal Boy?
Yes. WatchMind publishes an AI analysis on this page — tone, pacing, audience fit, and community scores from TMDb metadata and recommendation models (not a chatbot). Scroll to the AI Analysis section or read the meta description summary.
How long is the movie Borstal Boy?
The official runtime for Borstal Boy is approximately 91 minutes.
Cast & crew
Names and photos from The Movie Database (TMDb). Follow links on themoviedb.org for full filmographies.
Directors & writers
Cast
Shawn Hatosy
Brendan Behan
Danny Dyer
Charlie Milwall
Robin Laing
Jock
Ian McElhinney
Verreker
Eva Birthistle
Liz Joyce
Mark Huberman
Mac
Lee Ingleby
Dale
Ronnie Drew
Customs man
- E
Eamon Glancy
Manning
- D
Dennis Conway
Holmes
- P
Patricia Leventon
Landlady
- J
John O'Toole
Whitbread
Luke Hayden
Alex
Michael York
Joyce
Mark Lambert
Chief Dixon
Eoin Slattery
James
- O
Owen Sharpe
Albert
- V
Viko Nikci
Jerzy
Audience notes
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Community reviews
Written by TMDb members — same catalogue as our movie & TV metadata. API terms
When Brendan Behan (Shawn Hatosy) arrives in Liverpool with a bag full of explosives amidst WWII, he's promptly caught and sent to a youth detention facility in Norfolk. It's run by a fair and open-minded warden (Michael York) who advises his inmates to behave themselves and all will be fine. That's easier said than done, though, as this confirmed Irish republican is not going to naturally fit in with his cohorts. One exception might be navy man Charlie Milwall (Danny Dyer) with whom he becomes quite thick. What now ensues combines a frequently toxic mix of politics, bullying and fluid sexuality with their determination to escape and a degree of humanity and some dark, wartime, humour as the coming-of-age genre takes on a different, less predictable, direction. There are gay undertones, but they are not laboured as the story depicts a broader group of lads who are lost, abandoned by family and society and rudderless - and an engaging rapport between Hatosy and Dyer emerges helping to illustrate that not everyone here knows what the war is for or, indeed, is fighting the same one. It's gritty and the dialogue is honest and ripe without becoming overwhelmingly aggressive or repetitive and by the close these two men came across as decent and honourable. Worth a watch.
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