“Belfast” Review

Jude Hill makes his cinematic debut as Buddy in “Belfast,” which depicts Buddy growing up in Northern Ireland during The Troubles of 1969.

I think after two months of more mindless films, I had a longing for the quality Oscar films. This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to see a theatrical re-release of Kenneth Branagh’s Best Picture nominated film “Belfast” and I’m glad that I did. Out of all the films nominated for the Academy’s top prize, this film is one that I would love to win because of how delightful, meaningful and personal it was. 

Set in 1969 during The Troubles in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a nine-year-old boy named Buddy (Jude Hill) grows up amidst great political discourse where Protestant radicals are attacking Catholics and wanting Northern Ireland to join Ireland. Despite these awful things happening, Buddy’s family try to make the best of it in Belfast while he grows up.

While Kenneth Branagh has made several good films in the past few years, “Belfast” has blown all of them out of the water and is his best work since 1996’s “Hamlet.” This film is deeply personal for Branagh, since he grew up in the same time and place as these characters, and “Belfast” is proof that the most personal work is often the best. There’s a reason why “write what you know” is a popular phrase. Because it works. 

Branagh’s direction is marvelous as is the cinematography of Haris Zambarloukos. The film is shot in black-and-white and it’s absolutely beautiful. I miss black-and-white films. Nowadays, the only black-and-white films choose that lack of color as a means of artistic expression, including “Belfast,” but whatever happened to having black-and-white films just because. 

Jude Hill’s youthful optimism as Buddy is incredibly infectious and it’s at times like these that I wish there was a Best Child Performance Oscar because Hill would win. Alongside his older brother Will (Lewis McAskie), they grow up surrounded by a lot of hardship, having to check through a barricade to go into their neighborhood after it was attacked by extremists. 

But helping the boys out through these times are their strong-willed mother (Caitríona Balfe) and their father (Jaime Dornan) who is often away working in England. Balfe and Dornan are fantastic in these roles and their relationship to each other and their sons convey a strong, working class family. 

But stealing the show are Judie Dench and Ciarán Hinds who play Buddy’s grandparents. Both of them earned Oscar nominations for their roles and they absolutely earned them. These are some of the sweetest people I have seen in a long time and their performances are fantastic.

Further adding to the film is a soundtrack composed entirely of songs by Belfast native Van Morrison including a song written exclusively for the film called “Down to Joy.” These songs, no doubt, were the soundtrack to Branagh’s childhood in Belfast and they’re absolutely wonderful. 

While the film does feature a dark time in Irish history, there is a lot of joy to be found in “Belfast.” It’s a purely loving film that needs to be seen by as many people as possible. Nothing can compare with the beauty that Branagh has created with this touching film.