“Belfast”: Where Branagh’s Childhood Resides

Release Date：Mar/11/2022

Genre：Biography/Drama/History

Director：Kenneth Branagh

Cast：Jude Hill、Jamie Dornan、Judi Dench、Ciaran Hinds

Viola's Rating：8.0

As one of the feature films that received 7 nominations at the 94th Academy Awards, “Belfast” is Sir Kenneth Branagh’s latest film. He is an Oscar nominated actor and filmmaker, whom most people know through his film adaptations of William Shakespeare’s plays, including “Hamlet”, “Henry V”, “Much Ado About Nothing” and Branagh as Poirot in “Death on the Nile” and “Murder on the Orient Express”, but not many know that he’s from Northern Ireland. “Belfast”, which was released on Nov 12, 2021, is the love letter Branagh wrote to his childhood and hometown.

Inspired by Branagh’s own childhood, this biographical, historical drama depicts what a young boy, Buddy, and his working-class Belfast family experience the turbulent late 1960s.

Since the theme of “Belfast” is childhood, the plot should be carefree and happy, but Branagh set the 1969 Northern Ireland riots as the background, thus created the biggest conflict in the flick. However, all the cares our little protagonist Buddy have has nothing to do with the riots, but his puppy love and schoolwork. The first scene of “Belfast” is everyone in the neighborhood looking for Buddy at his mom’s request, creating an ambience that Belfast is a friendly community, and everyone knows each other. That’s exactly how Branagh built up the appearance of Buddy.

When it comes to childhood, family is one of the topics to be touched. Child discipline is the first education we all receive, in “Belfast”, the audience gets to see how parenting molds a child no matter how the environment changes. Eventually, the motion picture wants moviegoers to know that “home” is where family is, and it’s alright to leave your hometown if it stays in your heart forever.

Not only family love is mentioned in “Belfast”, but also the romantic ones. The affinity between Buddy’s Pa and Ma is genuine. Of course, there are fights, like all the other marriages, but their bond is strong and touching. Also, the chemistry between Pop and Granny is even more adorable. The amazing acting of Ciaran Hinds and the Oscar winning Judi Dench as the grandparents got them Oscar nominations of Best Supporting Actor and Actress.

Not to mention the soothing and upbeat soundtrack comes from a Belfast native, Van Morrison, including eight classic songs from his archive and a new one he wrote specifically for “Belfast”. The scores and songs undoubtedly add to the audio experience and a holistic feel of the movie.

All in all, “Belfast” reminds all of us who left home of all the brilliant memories we had during childhood. Through telling the audience where his childhood resides, Branagh is going to bring back a few Oscar statuette with this fantastic picture.

Picture Credit: IMDb