Music is a powerful tool for resistance and Rich Peppiatt’s delightfully frenetic retelling of the birth of northern Irish hip-hop band Kneecap shows the power and the vulnerability of sticking it to the Man.

I must admit to never having heard of Kneecap before and thought that this film by X was pure fiction until the closing credits where we see the real Kneecap performing through the years. Told in a wry, collage of music, drama, humour and even a little bit of animation, we see the moment where two mouthy, drug loving lads – Naoise (or Móglaí Bap) and Liam Ôg (or Mo Chara) – collide with Irish language and music teacher JJ (or DJ Próvai). It’s at a time when Northern Ireland is trying to get legislation passed that will give status to Irish language on a level footing with English and as you can imagine, there are strong opinions on both sides.

The two lads just want to make money and take drugs, but they journal scratchy poetry written in their native tongue about drugs and sex that is recognised by JJ as something more. As he says, Irish language is the last dodo in a glass cage and they need to smash the glass and set it free.

We are given a range of examples of people who oppose them. Some obvious, like embittered ‘peeler’ Detective Ellis (Josie Walker) who just wants to prove that Naoise’s IRA father Arló Ó Cairealláin (Michael Fassbender) is still alive. There’s also the Radical Republicans Against Drugs who seem to object to the content of the songs not the language, although perhaps they are not all that they seem. Less obviously is JJ’s partner Caitlin (Fionnuala Flaherty) who is one of the leaders of the pro Irish movement and needs to maintain her standing with the establishment in order to make change.

It is such a strong story about the problems with colonisation. It is the same as all over the world where colonisers have tried to wipe out indigenous cultures. Language is one of the most powerful ways to undermine a culture and it resurgence becomes a powerful symbol of resistance.

Although the subject matter is serious, there is a lot of levity and joy in the storytelling. You can’t help but want these young ne’er-do-wells to succeed and it is heartwarming to see that they do. And remarkable that the three leads are played by themselves – I had to check and double check that it wasn’t a sleight of hand. Seeing them perform over the closing credits is joyful.