Belfast - Movie Review

Critics Score - 9 of 10

General Audience Score - 7 of 10

There have been some terrible crimes and atrocities committed in mankind’s history that were based on religious beliefs and prejudices against people of other faiths and denominations. One of the long standing feuds in Europe has been between the Catholics and Protestants, with numerous countries and cities being pulled into the conflict at certain points in time over the past several centuries. Belfast is a new film from actor/director Kenneth Branagh who has made a bit of everything from action films like Thor and Jack Ryan to Shakespeare adaptations like Much Ado About Nothing and Hamlet (1996). This is a story pulled straight out of Branagh’s youth and it’s a lighthearted family drama with little bits of humor sprinkled in here and there. The premise of the film is simple enough but eventually starts doing some heavy hitting once it gets down to business and gets where it’s trying to go. It’s not the best film of the year in my humble opinion, but it is up near the top and it cannot be denied that some outstanding filmmaking is taking place here on the streets of 1960’s Belfast.

SYNOPSIS - Our trip to the capital of Ireland in 1969 begins with some shots of current day Belfast in color and then transitions into black and white as fifty years fall off the calendar and we meet Buddy (Jude Hill), running up and down the city streets with a wooden sword and garbage can lid shield. Within a few moments the camera is spinning around Buddy’s face as we witness a mob of Catholics begin to come down the streets into a neighborhood of Protesants, smashing windows, throwing Molotov cocktails and wreaking general havoc. As Buddy’s Ma (Caitriona Balfe) comes running up to haul him out of harms way, we get the sense of what must’ve been like a war zone to a little boy, with military troops and tanks rolling through the next day to establish peace. Buddy’s Pa (Jamie Dornan) comes home from working out of town to a household of discontent, with Ma raising Buddy and his brother Will (Lewis McAskie) basically by herself while Pa is off working with the pile of debt they have never dwindling. Now with the violence erupting between Catholics and Protestants there’s worry about the family’s safety and Pa suggests they consider leaving everything and everyone they know and love in Belfast and starting a new life somewhere else. Different story lines weave in and out as Buddy’s talks with his grandpa Pop (Ciarán Hinds) and Granny (Judy Dench) and his pursuits of a young girl in his class, but the film stays focused on this family’s attempts to overcome struggles in a difficult time and hits home in an all too familiar way.

Once we’ve seen about as many amazing cinematic shots as one film can handle, other than the moving family drama that evolves and is as good as any others this year, the imagery will leave you stunned. Seriously, the cinematography of this film is so unbelievably good, there are such amazing shot compositions throughout that you could fill an art gallery and sell stills of this film. The soundtrack is also delightful and the references to films and TV shows of old is a wonderful trip down nostalgia lane. But after what I thought was the films climactic finale, I experienced something I can only describe as cinematic perfection. It was overwhelming, like a rising tide you don’t realize is surrounding you and all of a sudden you’re being pulled under. I was completely floored and for maybe the first time I can recall, my eyes filled with tears that weren’t of the kind induced by sorrow. I won’t say anything else other than I listened to Carl Carton’s Everlasting Love as soon as I got in my car to drive home. A mesmerizing piece of cinema that took my rating from a high 7 or low 8 up to 9, not my favorite movie, but my favorite sequence of the year.

SUMMARY - While this film is slower than most, even with just over an hour and a half runtime, it’s still going to wear the average film goers’ patience down until little is left. But the payoff for the cinephiles and lovers of Oscar films is tremendous and this is simply one trip to Belfast they cannot afford to miss.