Review: Belfast
Belfast, directed by Kenneth Branagh is a twinkly-eyed childhood memoir set during the cold months of 1969, when outbursts of sectarian violence across Northern Ireland marked a change in the air.
The plot of the film pivots around two financially weak parents, played by Caitriona Balfe and Jamie Dornan who have to make the most difficult decision of their lives: do they leave Belfast and the only home they’ve ever known, or risk the safety of their two young sons? They are a Protestant family living in a majority Protestant area, but coexisting peacefully with their Catholic neighbors.
The majority of the film is seen through Buddy (Jude Hall), their younger son’s eyes. Amidst the violence, Buddy plays ball with his cousins; moons over a pretty classmate; watches Star Trek and Westerns on television, and spends time with his loving grandparents (Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds) who deliver some funny lines here and there.
DoP Haris Zambarloukos makes a wise use of the camera as we see static pans and dutch camera angles. In one scene, where Buddy is face to face with a protesting mob, the camera pans 180 degrees, freezing his world view for a while.
The violence, religion, and identity politics appear almost throughout the film, in short sharp bursts. All the hatred and tensions is conveniently condensed into a single, straightforwardly villainous figure, played by Colin Morgan.
However, at heart, this film warms you up like a coffee on a cold winter evening. Buddy’s innocence with the way he sees the world, or even his accent, will immediately make you tear up. Its raw, warm, and authentic all in one.
In a beautiful sequence, while looting a supermarket, Buddy has the freedom to pick up anything he desires. He picks up a washing powder, as he knows it would help his mother.
A still from Belfast.
The film also tips cinema in various ways, acting like a mashup with Cinema Paradiso – cinema acts like an escape for Buddy and his family during the violence. The film jolts with excitement every time Buddy bundles himself into the seat of a local auditorium and gazes up in wonder at a screening of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or a production of A Christmas Carol
While Belfast largely plays out in black and white, Buddy’s early exposure to the arts is rendered in ecstatic explosions of color. As a monochrome memoir, the film shares much in common with Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma, which revisited the director’s childhood in Mexico City through the eyes of his family’s one-time domestic worker.
Belfast also acts as a thank-you note to the city that sparked Branagh’s dreams and the parents whose sacrifices helped them come true.
Belfast is shortlisted this year for 7 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and Best Director.
You can watch by pre-order on Apple TV or Amazon Prime.
