Happy New Year! You made it to 2022, well done you. I know you’re probably not the best right now because it’s cold from the winter and that virus hasn’t fucked off yet, but if you’re a cinephile like me, you’ll at least be a little bit glad to know that its awards season once again. Easily the best time of year for cinema, the awards season helps ease the January blues by showcasing a variety of independent/ indewood films made by acclaimed filmmakers, both seasoned and up and coming, in the hopes of winning that all important academy award.
This year is no different, boasting future Oscar nominees such as Jane Campion’s The Power of The Dog, Denis Villenuve’s Dune, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Lost Daughter and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza. Although much of this output is typically American, the British also tend to compete for the Oscar gold, this year with Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical Irish social realism drama, Belfast.
The film follows the life of a protestant family with a particular focus on Buddy, a young boy coming of age as a warzone erupts outside his front door. Fundamentally observational, as social realism films tend to be, Belfast is a cinematic recreation of Belfast’s history as well as a presentation of what life was like in 1960’s Northern Ireland.
Personally, I’ve never been the biggest fan of Kenneth Branagh’s work behind the camera, but as this film is semi-autobiographical and thus personal to Branagh, I had hoped that a glimpse deeper into the filmmaker may be the very thing needed to finally win me over. Unfortunately, it did not. I can appreciate that Belfast is a lovingly recreation of 1960’s Northern Ireland with good blocking and strong acting, however, Belfast is fundamentally an expression of Branagh’s pride for his local community which is something I couldn’t feel anymore disconnected from this theme if I tried.
I understand that this criticism is incredibly subjective to me and that just because I don’t have any pride in my country and/or local community, doesn’t mean this film isn’t any good. It is nonetheless important to stress that Belfast isn’t for everyone and essentially works best when preaching to a patriotic choir and if you’re not that, then you’re in for a dull day in the life drama filled with dialogue you can barely understand.
Overall, with interestingly blocked scenes and strong, if sometimes hard to understand, acting across the board, Belfast is a loving tribute from Kenneth Branagh to the city of Belfast, the people who lived there in the 60’s and those who left amongst the civil war. This being said, the film isn’t for everyone, as it expresses its themes in such a marmite way that ultimately renders Belfast a well-made preach to an already converted choir of patriots and community lovers. If this is you, you’ll have a great time with Belfast, if it isn’t, maybe give this one a miss.
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