Belfast: Kenneth Branagh’s deeply personal ode to a time, a place and a people

There’s an air about it, an authenticity and poignancy that feels viscerally personal, as if it was plucked from the long-ago memories of someone with genuine affection and love for a certain time in their lives.

That someone is Branagh, and Belfast is the semi-autobiographical story of his childhood growing up in a city torn apart by sectarian violence as families struggle to make sense of their home and where they belong.

But even with that fractious backdrop of 1969, Belfast is a story with grace and humanity – and above all, it’s about family.

Branagh’s onscreen stand-in is Buddy (newcomer Jude Hill), a sweet and playful nine-year-old whose world turns when his street is besieged by a group of Protestant rioters targeting the Catholic side of the street.

Tanks and barricades litter the street as standover men pressure Buddy’s father Pa (Jamie Dornan) to join the cause. Pa has been working in England and the ongoing violence at home plus the family’s never-ending debt leads to him to think about migrating to Australia or Canada.

But Ma (Caitriona Balfe) isn’t into the idea, anchored by the overwhelming feeling that no matter what’s happening, Belfast is home.

Those ideas of home and family are so intricately linked in Belfast and it’s what fuels this captivating and emotionally resonant film that would speak to anyone who’s ever had to grapple with belonging.

Belfast is brimming with heart, tinted with this great love Branagh clearly has for his hometown and his early years. Maybe that means there’s a rose-coloured glasses effect over Belfast but the film never declared itself as some warts-and-all expose about the Troubles.

Those films already exist. Belfast is about how people can still experience beauty and love in the face of the chaos around them. And if Branagh’s film is a reflection on his formative years, then he was very lucky indeed.

On a formal level, Belfast excels on many levels. Branagh’s script crackles with life and lived experience while performances from Balfe, Dornan, Judi Dench and Ciaran Hinds (as Buddy’s grandparents) are infused with compassion.

The black-and-white cinematography from Haris Zambarloukos is visually stunning, washed in the softness of greys to highlight the nuances of a conflict and of a family. Every frame is beautiful to behold.

But as much as it ticks those craft boxes, there’s no mistaking that the real artistic value in Belfast is Branagh’s overall vision, and his fidelity to the memories of a time, a place and a people.

Rating: 4/5

Belfast is in cinemas now

Originally published as Belfast: Kenneth Branagh’s deeply personal ode to a time, a place and a people