This mostly black & white film is worth watching for the cinematography alone though that is not its only positive attribute. Set in 1969-70, at the beginning of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, it is the story of a Protestant family living in a predominantly Catholic neighborhood in Belfast as told through the eyes of the youngest son.
Belfast is directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also wrote the screenplay. Branagh, born in Belfast, was eight years old when The Troubles began. His Protestant family lived in a predominantly Catholic neighborhood and his father, just like the dad in the film, was a plumber and joiner who traveled to England to find work to support the family.
The film swings between the idyllic parts of childhood and frightening outbreaks of violence, and it is very frightening when it starts on the screen. Branagh has sympathy for all those caught up in the situation, and nothing but disdain for those who promoted sectarian hatred. Because it is told through the perceptions of a boy too young to understand what is going on around him, some scenes are exaggerated and there are a couple that are clearly fantasies of how the child would like to remember those days and his parents. Very moving and very disturbing at times.
As a young man, Branagh directed and starred in the finest Shakespeare ever put on film, Henry V. If you haven't seen it, do so. And watch it with a copy of the play with you to appreciate the brilliance of Branagh's adaptation.
