{"id":23819,"date":"2021-11-09T16:41:28","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T00:41:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=23819"},"modified":"2021-11-09T16:41:28","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T00:41:28","slug":"belfast-is-one-of-the-years-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=23819","title":{"rendered":"BELFAST is One of the Year\u2019s Best"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Focus Features is releasing <em>Belfast<\/em> in theaters on\nNovember 12<sup>th<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to recent interviews, actor\/writer\/director\nKenneth Branagh has always wanted to make a film about his childhood and\ngrowing up In Belfast, Northern Ireland during the turbulent late 1960s. The\nrecent lockdown allowed him to focus on this idea, developing it into <em>Belfast<\/em>,\nhis latest effort and one of the best features of the year. Everything about\nthis movie, from its observations to the characters themselves, feel genuine\nand absorbing, as if viewers are getting an authentic look into a child\u2019s life\nduring this period in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Belfast-03-fixed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23820\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Buddy (Jude Hill) is a nine-year-old with all the typical\ninterests of a boy his age, including the cinema and comic books. His Pa (Jamie\nDornan) works in construction, often away for weeks at a time, leaving him at\nhome with his Ma (Caitriona Balfe), grandfather Pop (Ciar\u00e1n Hinds) and Granny\n(Judi Dench). While Buddy deals with relatable and amusing problems associated\nwith growing up, there are bigger dangers in the streets due to civil unrest\nknown as The Troubles. The Protestant family enjoy family life on a street with\nmostly Catholic residents, but the area becomes a hotspot for violent attacks\nby those with extremist views about the protagonist\u2019s neighbors. Pa doesn\u2019t see\na safe future in Belfast and wants to leave the country, but faces resistance\nfrom Buddy and other family members. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Belfast-04-fixed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23822\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is a film that relies almost entirely on the\nperformance of a child and newcomer Jude Hill does an astounding job. The youth\nis put through the ringer, displaying a wide range of emotions. This includes\nwide-eyed youthful exuberance and comical arguments with another kid about\nwhich names belong to what religious persuasion, as well as the pangs of having\na crush, anxiety at being roped into a petty theft, frustration at the\npossibility of moving and genuine fear during violent outbreaks. Remarkably,\nthere isn\u2019t a false note anywhere and the kid is charming and relatable from\nbeginning to end. The supporting cast are every bit as strong, with Hinds\nmaking a remarkable impression as Pop. This grandfather entertainingly spouts\noff questionable advice and tries to teach the boy a few nifty tricks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Belfast-02-fixed-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23823\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The overwhelming majority of the film is shot in black and\nwhite, with the occasional burst of color during bits when the youngster is\nseeing a stage show or watching a movie. Despite the gray streets, it\u2019s all gorgeously\nshot, from the exteriors to the detailed close-ups of the characters. Young performer\nHill\u2019s eyes almost pop off the screen and one can see a beautifully weathered\nexpression from the lighting in many of the older family members. There are\nsome impressive overhead angles and lengthy shots that capture chaos occurring\nin the streets. However, the camera more often seems to be close to the ground\nand shooting upwards, displaying unique and creative angels in otherwise\neveryday home environments. This tactic helps the audience empathize with Buddy\nand see things through his eyes, where the adults and surrounding environments appear\nlarger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Admittedly, the movie does wear its heart on its sleeve, but\neven its moral themes are delivered convincingly and effectively by the cast. It\ndoesn\u2019t resort to overt sentimentality. There are no big music swells or melodramatic\nproclamations between the characters. Yet the film manages to find the perfect\ntonal balance to make an emotional imprint during its final moments and\ndedication. Even a hard-hearted reviewer like myself will admit to being so\ninvested in the proceedings that it made me a little misty-eyed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Belfast-05-fixed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23824\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Frankly, it\u2019s hard to find much to criticize in this\npicture. For those who want to see a very detailed and convincing picture of a\nfamily in Northern Ireland during the late 60s (and more than likely, the life\nof the movie\u2019s writer and director), there isn\u2019t a false or off note anywhere\nin this tale. <em>Belfast<\/em> is a rare feature that is exceptional in just\nabout every department.&nbsp; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Focus Features is releasing Belfast in theaters on November 12th. According to recent interviews, actor\/writer\/director Kenneth Branagh has always wanted to make a film about his childhood and growing up In Belfast, Northern Ireland during the turbulent late 1960s. The recent lockdown allowed him to focus on this idea, developing it into Belfast, his latest [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":23821,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[198,2488,2489,2490,2491,2789,3760,4414,6251,10271,11106,11109,11589,15045,22461],"class_list":["post-23819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-198","tag-belfast","tag-belfast-film-review","tag-belfast-movie-review","tag-belfast-review","tag-biopic","tag-caitriona-balfe","tag-ciaran-hinds","tag-drama","tag-jamie-dornan","tag-jude-hill","tag-judi-dench","tag-kenneth-branagh","tag-northern-ireland","tag-the-troubles"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23819\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}