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“Belfast” is unquestionably Kenneth Branagh’s most personal film to date, but it is also certain to resonate with audiences around the world. However, despite the fact that it depicts a violent and tumultuous time in Northern Ireland, it does so through the innocent and exuberant eyes of a nine-year-old boy. And it’s shot in a soft black-and-white style, with sporadic bursts of vibrant color to break up the monotony.
With this film, Branagh reminisces about his childhood in an affluent neighborhood of the titular city, creating a film that is both intimate and ambitious—his “Roma,” if you’ll excuse the inevitable comparison to Alfonso Cuarón’s recent masterpiece. For the most part, the writer/director succeeds in achieving his goal of striking a delicate balance between the two characters’ viewpoints. One cannot help but be enchanted by this love letter to a pivotal place and time in his childhood, as well as the people who helped shape him into the singular cultural force that he would become in the years to come. Much earlier than the dedication that plays before the closing credits—”For the ones who stayed. In memory of those who have passed away. For all those who have passed away.”—we can feel Branagh’s wistful heart on his sleeve in this scene.
In spite of this, because we’re seeing what happened during the summer of 1969 through the eyes of a sweet child named Buddy (Branagh’s stand-in Jude Hill, who is irrepressibly winsome), there can be an oversimplification of the upheaval at the heart of the film, as well as an emotional distancing in the way it is shot. As Buddy does, we perceive and hear things in fragments and whispers, through open windows and cracked doors, down narrow hallways and across the cramped living room, where “Star Trek” appears to be on the television all of the time, and through open windows and cracked doors. (The evocative black-and-white cinematography is provided by Haris Zambarloukos, who has shot several of Branagh’s films, including “Cinderella” and “Murder on the Orient Express.”) Suddenly, his trash can lid, which had been serving as a toy shield for him while a Protestant mob charged down his block, attempting to evict the Catholic families who lived next door, is transformed into a vital piece of protective equipment against flying rocks.
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It’s this constant push-pull that serves as a through-line in the novel “Belfast.” It’s a film that frequently feels at odds with itself, which results in equal amounts of poignancy and frustration from the audience. The sincerity that is displayed, however, is what ultimately wins you over. The alternative would necessitate a person’s being impenetrable, especially during the simple, quiet moments when Buddy learns valuable life lessons while listening to Van Morrison. (Yes, the words sound cheesy as I type them, but gosh darn it, that kid is absolutely adorable.) A nice touch is that the girl Buddy has a thing for (a pig-tailed blonde who happens to be Catholic) also happens to be the smartest student in the class, and the way he woos her elicits warm laughter from the audience as a result.
Belfast Quiz
Given Branagh’s longstanding reputation as an actor, it should come as no surprise that he has elicited warm, authentic performances from his top-tier, meticulously chosen cast for this film. With his parents being movie-star glamorous, Buddy sees his parents as larger-than-life figures, just like the actors in the movies he longs to see every weekend at the local movie theater. Buddy is raised in a modest, working-class, Protestant environment. His mother (Caitriona Balfe) is elegant and feisty, and his father (Jamie Dornan) is charismatic and kindhearted. They are known only to him (and to us) as Ma and Pa. When playing his grandparents, Judi Dench and Ciaran Hinds have a natural chemistry together, teasing and teasing each other mercilessly from a place of deep love and affection, as well as a lifetime of commitment—to each other and to this location. Possibly the film’s most memorable scene is the one in which they effortlessly transition from giving each other a hard time to dancing in the living room, Pop serenading Granny in her ear as he holds her close to him.
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Although it provides them with a brief reprieve from the growing danger that surrounds them, the breakup of the sense of camaraderie that has binded families on this block for decades, regardless of their religious or political beliefs, is a setback. Buddy is perplexed by The Troubles, as they have come to be known, and he begs the adults in his life who he has come to rely on to enlighten him. The absurdity of the violence that tore this region apart for so long is hammered home by these exchanges, which may appear to be amusing at first glance. They also serve as a reminder of what astonishingly subtle actors Dench and Hinds are; the way they are able to find nuance and heartache in seemingly innocuous statements is a sight to behold. While we’re on the subject of Marvel, Branagh makes a brief but clever allusion to his own role as a filmmaker shepherding the MCU forward.
About the quiz
An impossible choice confronts Buddy and his family as they listen to the steady hum of the threat: do they stay in the neighborhood where they’ve lived their entire lives and where they know everyone, or do they relocate to a safer location and start over? In order to pay off his debts, Pa’s job has him traveling to England for weeks at a time. Perhaps the entire family should accompany him on his journey? Alternatively, how about a city that is idyllic but far away, such as Vancouver or Sydney? The final shot, which is achingly romantic, signals their decision in a way that is more powerful than any of the nostalgia that has come before it.
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From November 12th to December 12th, “Belfast” will be shown in theaters.
For more personality quizzes check this: Eternals Quiz.
