Belfast (2021)
A young boy and his working class family experience the tumultuous late 1960s.
Cast and Information
Directed By: Kenneth Branagh
Written By: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Judi Dench, Ciarán Hinds, Jamie Dornan, Michael Maloney, Colin Morgan, Caitriona Balfe, Gerard Horan, Lara McDonnell, Jude Hill, Lewis McAskie, Olive Tennant, Josie Walker
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
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Belfast belongs to 18 collections
1. Academy Award - Oscar - Best Picture and Nominees (collaborative: moderated by smviper00 - 46 stars)
2. Post-1960s black & white photography (collaborative: moderated by djross - 21 stars)
3. Films available in HD (collaborative: moderated by kubricksucks - 12 stars)
4. Oscar: Best Writing (adapted/original) (collaborative: moderated by paulofilmo - 10 stars)
5. 1960s period film (collaborative: moderated by djross - 9 stars)
6. Best by different standards (public: sesito71 - 6 stars)
7. Inspired by Director's Own Childhood (collaborative: moderated by mattorama12 - 4 stars)
8. Oscar Nominated Feature Films 2022 (collaborative: moderated by Corbad - 4 stars)
9. The Troubles (collaborative: moderated by iceblox - 1 star)
10. Movies containing comic books (collaborative: moderated by Gregzilla)
11. Like Stories of Old: Best Movies of 2021 (collaborative: moderated by BeeDub)
12. Available on Divicast (collaborative: moderated by Dunstan-xxx)
13. Inför 2022 (collaborative: moderated by caffe)
14. Curzon Ripon (public: mandy)
15. 2020s Films (public: MacSwell)
16. Giltiga 2021-filmer (public: caffe)
17. Movies I watched in 2022 (public: Dunstan-xxx)
18. Divicast: Movies, TV shows and episodes watched (public: Dunstan-xxx)
Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 5 |  |
Leonardis | 93 76th |
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One of the biggest surprises for me this year. It’s such a touching movie, handled with so much care by a Kenneth Branagh. It’s beautifully photographed and directed. I dug the soundtrack quite a bit too. I personally think the movie got better and better as it went along and all of the acting was great (LOVED Caitriona Balfe). It’s short, cute, and has a surprising amount of weight and emotion. I love that it’s mostly pretty lighthearted and easily paced. Great film.
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| 3 | jthusky | 84 87th |
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Extremely charming coming-of-age tale that manages to balance the seriousness of the Troubles with the naive, optimistic mind of a child. Lovely performances from every cast member; at times it seems tailor-made for Balfe to pick up a Best Supporting Actress nomination, though Hinds, Dornan and Dench are all just as brilliant. If I had any complaints, I'd say it's a bit too treacly and "Oscar-baity," but it's a good story well told with a lot of heart.
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| 3 |  |
Corbad | 85 90th |
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A beautiful picture of family and place well shot and excellently performed - though the grandparents steal the show. Despite the ever-present juxtapositions of childhood and violence, the threat inside the family (illness and division) is never matched by exterior threat, and consequently the film feels, perhaps, a little too safe. Still, lovely and warm.
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| 2 |  |
JLFM | 48 18th |
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A fairly tepid coming-of-age historical drama that unsuccessfully splits its attention between a less-than-vividly-rendered family struggle and indulgent non-sequiturs inspired by Kenneth Branagh's childhood. Chockfull of pretty (albeit hollow) images and solid performances which ensures it checks all the boxes of your typical handsome, but inert, awards season vegetable mush.
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| 2 |  |
joel-w-m | 9 92nd |
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A beautiful batch of memories (the present-day in-colour intro is a nice touch) gorgeously shot, lovingly soundtracked, and wonderfully performed. The sharp tonal shifts from brutal violence to charming childhood innocence are jarring and undermine the impact of the former but they feel authentic to the film's recollection patchwork perspective, which Branagh sews perfectly, finding all those sweet spots of significance in the past for the present: "I'm going nowhere you can't find me."
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| 1 |  |
Difontaine | 82 82nd |
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Charmingly joyous, which is a feat given it's set during the Troubles of Northern Ireland of the late 60s. It's not meant to be a hard hitting historical account, it's the memories of a kid. Caitriona Balfe deserved a bunch of awards, she is the "glue" of the film. The kid does well also.
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| 1 |  |
KasperL | 80 86th |
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A surefooted and cozy tale. The kid is charming, but it's Balfe (the female lead in 'Outlander') who steals the show.
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| 1 |  |
BillyShears | 60 34th |
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Bland grandma movie. Imagine watching star trek then going outside to take a shit on the turlet. Oi I'm religious OI IM DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS OI PUTTEM UP
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| 1 |  |
Vandelay1 | 50 51st |
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okay movie
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| 1 | zwyk | 60 34th |
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The tone of the story can be seen as a representation of the facts through the eyes of the young boy. This would justify some of acting, the joyfulness of the kids, and it also helps understand the characters affections and feelings. But, still, the tone creates a sense of shallowness, which prevents the story from actually looking credible and being emotionally effective. The movie attempts to show a historical real life story, but it feels like a cheap fictionalization of reality.
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| 1 |  |
canadianor | 40 23rd |
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I wanted to like this more than I did. It's fine, but it just doesn't resonate terribly well with me. Not to mention it feels a bit like a stage-play, taking place all on one street. I understand it's supposed to be the world through a child's eyes, but there's not much there. Conversations and issues feel breezed through, and yet 'Belfast' sags in the middle around the third time they have the same set of conversations. It's good enough, but I couldn't recommend it to anyone.
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| 1 |  |
Bown | 75 36th |
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Unbelievably gorgeous movie with a killer cast (that kid was a hell of a find) but otherwise lacking. It’s fairly easy to like, quite warm and funny a lot of the time, but doesn’t paint more than a very basic picture of the issues at the time and felt like a veeeery generic coming-of-age story in many ways. It’ll probably win BP over Power of the Dog because the Academy are still pissy about Netflix lol
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| 1 |  |
glumpy_99 | 64 25th |
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Frustrating, unfocused remembrance is clearly deeply felt by Branagh, but he can't seem to decide between a simplistic, child's eye view of the events or a more sophisticated (and meaningful) take on the political atmosphere in 60s Belfast. This results in the dramatic elements feeling superficial and short-changed, while the "child's world" remains unexplored. Hampered by the material, the actors do their best, with an underused Dench and Hinds standing out.
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| 1 |  |
MontyCircus | 60 68th |
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A little slice-of-life of an important and impactful place and time. Nothing about it screams "Best Picture Nominee", but it is alright.
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| 1 |  |
natebarrios | 45 12th |
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Belslow
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| 1 |  |
magdabag | 91 82nd |
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This isn't anything I probably would've watched if It hadn't been nominated for several Oscars, but I'm so happy I did. I personally love putting myself i another people's shoes and seeing how other people from other places and times live(d) their lives. Learning about the violence in Belfast and how It affected the people was eye-opening and devastating and heartwarming and just so damned beautiful. I loved this and would recommend for any film buff. I give 9 stolen chocolates out of 10.
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| 1 |  |
jagarnyfiken | 38 14th |
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At one point you have to decide where you're gonna milk that sympathy from. From the kid? Poor old Pop? Hotties Pa and Ma? Having a lot of beautiful elements such as these glamorous characters, tragic memories, happiest moments just doesn't mean you have enough to make a proper film out of them. Branagh's Belfast is just a good example for this common writing problem. And I'm not even talking about the position that the film takes on the political and historical responsibilities of this story.
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| 1 | doyler29 | 70 36th |
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Branagh's autobiographical depiction of his childhood home is a very easy film to like. Despite being about violence and civil unrest, it's a very warm and affectionate portrait of the place he was born, and makes it pretty clear why it was difficult for his family to leave. Hill is a pretty magnificent find, and Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds are wonderful as his grandparents.
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| Average Percentile 48.2% from 632 Ratings |  |