Belfast (2021)

“The Irish were born for leavin, otherwise the rest of the world’d have no pubs ” – Auntie Violet

Number of Times Seen – 1 (4 Dec 2021)

Brief Synopsis – A young boy growing up in Northern Ireland in the late 60’s, sees his world turned around by the escalating violence.

My Take on it – This is a movie that I’ve been interested in seeing ever since I heard about it a few months ago.

I have always been a fan of Kenneth Branagh’s films and his work here as Director, Producer and writer is superb.

The story is supposedly somewhat based on his own experiences as a child in Ireland in the late 60’s and it’s so easy to feel the emotion of these characters throughout.

The choice to film this movie mostly in black and white is a superb idea because it gives it a much more nostalgic feel as if it is a memory being replayed in one’s head.

The only color in the film is modern scenes and clips from the movies that helped shape the mind of the young character (Branagh????).

Loved seeing clips of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), One Million Years B.C. (1966) and High Noon (1952) especially given how they each relate to the story that is unfolding here.

The characters are developed really well and whats more interesting is the way that the film shows the strong inter-generational bonds of the characters due to the way that different generations of families live close by and that helps show how deeply they are involved in each others lives.

The cast is not filled with high profile actors, yet they still give some great performances tat help make things feel even more realistic as the story unfolds.

This is a multi-layered film that needs to be watched more than once and internalized because it says so much and I can’t wait to get a chance to see it again.

Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Kenneth Branagh wrote the screenplay at the encouragement of his friend, actor John Sessions. This would be Sessions’ final film role, having passed away in November of 2020. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (9/10)