Belfast (2021) - Kenneth Branagh’s moving homage to his hometown
Credit: allocine.fr
Kenneth Branagh’s love for his childhood home, which he left aged nine, is heart-warming and honest in his new Oscar-tipped Belfast, about the strong relationship between young Buddy and his family during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It’s beautifully acted, with a strong cast featuring Jamie Dornan as Pa, Caitríona Balfe as Ma, Judi Dench as Granny, and the exceptional newcomer Jude Hill as Buddy. Branagh is on top form, attentive to detail both in feeling and cinematography, and though there something missing in this ultimately feel-good take of Protestant life in the midst of political havoc, a sentimentality that is neither rewarding nor thought-provoking, the charming message of love for family and home supersedes its slow moments.
Jude Hill steals the show as Buddy, a semi-autobiographical take of the young Branagh in 1969. He is peppy, energetic and vulnerable all at once, thoughtful with his Granny and Pop (Ciarán Hinds), quietly aware of tensions between his Ma and Pa, madly in love with a Catholic classmate, Catherine (Olive Tennant): in the simplest of terms, he is a child, and a child who carries the film at that. Despite the political context, Belfast retains Buddy’s innocence to a certain degree, allowing him to appreciate time with his family without the constant looming threat of war. This is reserved for Pa (a superb Jamie Dornan), who mostly works in England and who is forced to face up to sectarian Billy Clanton (Colin Morgan) whenever he is home to spend time with his wife and children.
Credit: allocine.fr
The film alternates between points of view, delicately balancing the excitements of childhood with the responsibilities of adulthood, and for the most part, it works really well. Branagh succeeds in creating a beautiful, tender film about the love a family shares, despite being rocked by distance, illness and political havoc, living true to the statement that it takes a village to raise a child. When Pop tells Buddy that everyone is looking out for him, we don’t doubt him for a second. Buddy is cared for everywhere, rendering the scene in which he breaks down about not wanting to leave Belfast all the more superb. Identity supersedes The Troubles in Buddy’s world, at its pinnacle the fear that those in other countries won’t understand a word of what he is saying. There is the fear of being misunderstood, seconded by Ma, the fear of not belonging, of leaving a place that had it all, a message that one feels resonates just as much with Branagh as it does with his actors.
Certainly there are some slow moments to Belfast, and a sentimentality that is difficult to shake off throughout. At times, long arguments between Ma and Pa or slightly soppy talks Buddy shares with his grandparents drag on without quite managing to captivate. But then comes a sudden burst of energy, a naughty attempt at shoplifting, a trip to the cinema in which the family are literally elevated by the wonders of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Ken Hughes, 1968), a joyful snippet of the classic that is as electrifying for the film audience as it is for the real one. What a pleasure to see the flying car on the big screen! The quintessence of the film however, and what remains long after the credits, is a party scene that gathers family and friends for a night of celebration. Despite tensions in and out of Buddy’s home life, Branagh brings everything together in this scene, fading out fear and worry to the sound of Pa performing Love Affair’s Everlasting Love, not only for Ma and his children, but for Belfast, the city he calls home.