Five minutes of Heaven is a rare foray into British television for Irish actor, Liam Neeson.

The first part of the film shows the killing of 19 year old Jim Griffin by a 17 year old Alistair Little in 1975.

The second part of the film depicts a reconciliation meeting for television between Alistair Little and Jim's brother Joe, three decades later.

Although the incident of the killing is apparently based on true events the rest of the story is fictional.

It is the one of many stories we will encounter in the years to come, now the Troubles are over and people look back on the past with different perspectives.

The story is essentially about two damaged men who are still damaged over 30 years later. One wanting forgiveness, the other unwilling to forgive.

James Nesbitt has the more showy role as Joe, with nervous tics, talkative with pent up frustration as he is about to meet the killer of his brother. He has revenge on his mind.

Neeson who ironically found a new wind with cinema audiences in the Taken films, is more calm, measured and assured as Alistair. He bitterly regrets the mistakes he made. All he craved when he was a youth, was acceptance from the elders of his community.

The final scene when he does get closure is priceless.

This is a small scale film which has something big to say. With Neeson, it attracts an audience and he delivers.

It is not a crash, bang, wallop type of film though. It is thoughtful and a slow burn one. Both Nesbitt and Neeson carry the story.

In February, 1975, in Northern Ireland, the seventeen year-old UVF member Alistair Little kills the catholic Jimmy Griffin in his house in Lurgan in front of his younger brother Joe Griffin. Alistair is arrested and imprisoned for twelve years while Joe is blamed by his mother for not saving his brother. Thirty-three years later, a TV promotes the meeting of Alistair (Liam Neeson) and Joe (James Nesbitt) in a house in River Finn expecting the truth and the reconciliation of the murderer and the victim that actually seeks five minutes of heaven.

"Five Minutes of Heaven" is a fictional tale about the effects of violence in the lives of the survivors, the victim that seeks revenge and the killer that seeks redemption and spiritual peace after thirty- three years. The pacifist story uses a terrorist act of a young man blinded by the environment of violence in Northern Ireland to disclose the powerful drama, but could be any other sort of violence or fanaticism that are frequently displayed in the headlines of the news and is not specifically about terrorism as mentioned in some reviews. James Nesbitt has an awesome performance in the role of a man that has his family destroyed due to a senseless crime only because his brother was Catholic. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Rastros de Justiça" ("Trails of Justice")

This movie takes place in northern Ireland. It begins in 1975 with the murder of 19-year-old Jim Griffin by 17-year-old Alistair Little (you can find more info on the real Alistair through searching the forgiveness project on the internet). The second part of the movie takes place in 2008.

That second part is very interesting because it shows the effects of the murder on the two main characters (and their surroundings). I liked that this movie showed both sides. The acting of James Nesbitt is also very good because you can see his struggle about what to do when actually confronting the man who killed his brother.

If you are interested in the reasons why people in present day can kill for what they believe in, and also like movies based on actual historical events this is a must-see movie.