Belfast
FOCUS FEATURESMemories are perhaps the most valuable thing humans have. The mind’s recollection of events from the past, both joyous and traumatic, inform what people become. And none of these memories are more powerful than those of childhood: the smell of a family meal, the feeling of a first love, or running down a familiar street, not a care in the world. Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast is an ode to these memories: a powerful and moving portrait of innocence and innocence lost that is simply enrapturing.
The story recounts a fictionalised slice of Branagh’s childhood, specifically the fall of 1969 in Belfast, Northern Ireland as young Buddy (Jude Hill) navigates the tribulations of boyhood in the midst of a brewing conflict between Irish Catholics and Protestants. As the conflict turns violent, Buddy and his family are faced with the possibility of leaving their once peaceful and idyllic home. With Belfast, Branagh turns in his most personal film to date; a loving recollection of memories and stories told in a phenomenally captivating way. Branagh and cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos shoot the film in mostly black and white, giving 60’s Belfast, a gorgeous, timeless, old-Hollywood look. Branagh presents his dramatiz\sed childhood as a classic film he might remember being inspired by at the time.
Belfast is truly designed to operate as a memory: many shots are placed looking up at seemingly towering buildings and figures as if straight from Buddy’s perspective, color is only sparingly used to denote the most vivid of memories, like sequences of Buddy staring in wide-eyed wonderment at movie theatre screens, and the listful, almost vignette-style structure evokes the practice of looking back on old memories that one can’t quite piece together every detail of but can recall the raw emotion perfectly.
So much care is put into the craft of this film, everything geared towards creating a hypnotic feeling of nostalgia that draws the viewer for the entire runtime. Van Morrison’s jazz score is whimsical and energetic, perfectly accenting the childlike wonder and rose-tinted glasses that the streets of Belfast are shown through.
The entire ensemble of performers is stellar across the board, but Jude Hill as Buddy is a revelation. Hill is the rare child actor that captures naivety and innocence without coming off as grating or obnoxious. Buddy, and ostensibly Branagh, is the lens we are shown the movie through, so Hill has most of the heavy lifting to do in the acting department and carries the burden effortlessly. An incredibly charming performance. The rest of the film mostly concerns Buddy’s family, all simply named by their relationship to him, as a child might remember them. Ma and Pa, played by Caitriona Balfe and Jamie Dornan respectively, are endearing as Buddy’s parents. Ma serving as a loving but stern guardian and Pa acting as a sage to Buddy, as absent as he is from his life. Nessa Erikson is perhaps the funniest part of the film as Buddy’s troublemaking Cousin Vanessa, and the cast is rounded out by Judi Dench and Ciaran Hinds as Granny and Pop, the absolute heart and soul of Branagh’s feature. Don’t be surprised to see Supporting Oscar nominations in the latter performers’ future.
Few films distill the colossal power of nostalgia as well as Belfast does. Crafted to perfection by Branagh and co, bolstering one of the strongest ensembles of the year, and having heart in boundless quantity make Belfast just as heartwarming as the hype would have the viewer to believe. An intimate and soulful film that brings people together under the joint union of remembering a simpler time in life when all there was were love, family, and home.