Belfast - 7 nominations

 

Best Original Screenplay Kenneth Branagh (written by)

Best Motion Picture of the Year Laura Berwick (producer) Kenneth Branagh (producer) Becca Kovacik (producer) Tamar Thomas (producer)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Ciarán Hinds

Best Sound Denise Yarde Simon Chase James Mather Niv Adiri

Best Achievement in Directing Kenneth Branagh

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song) Van Morrison (music and lyric by) For song "Down to Joy"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Judi Dench

The lights went up in the movie theater and I pronounced Belfast to be the Best Picture of the year.  (Mind you, this was before I saw tick, tick... Boom, but I digress.) This beautiful film which captures a semi-autobiographical account of Kenneth Branagh's childhood is so well crafted, well cast, well organized, and well filmed that right off the bat, I'm going to tell you that this is one of your MUST see films of the year.  It is a film shot primarily in black and white with carefully chosen moments of color and frankly, while nobody talks about snubs in technical categories, this film should absolutely have been nominated for Best Cinematography.  (readers of this blog know that when I make a statement like that, I also add which nominee I would cut in order to make space for this one, and believe it or not, I would cut Power of the Dog in order to honor Belfast's extraordinary cinematographer, Haris Zambarloukos.)

The film's protagonist is 9 year old Buddy (with an incredible debut from non-actor, Jude Hill) who is a Protestant living through the "Troubles" in Belfast.  Violence comes directly to his street, with neighbors taking up arms against Catholic neighbors, though his small family doesn't subscribe to the anti-Catholic sentiment from members of their community.

Buddy's concerns are 9 year old concerns - he likes a girl, he misses his dad who is working in England to earn money to support their family, he loves his tough but wonderful mother, he is close with his wizened and aging grandparents (both played to Oscar nominations for Hinds and Dench). Buddy's mother played beautifully by Caitriona Balfe (who many think was robbed of an acting nomination) is doing her best to keep their finances afloat, run the household, and keep her kids away from the troubles.  When Buddy's father comes home for visits, neighbors pressure him to join the anti-Catholic violence, which he absolutely refuses to do.  Tensions are high between the loving but embattled couple.

At its heart, Belfast is a lovely film that asks you to consider the immigrant experience.  Does this family want to move away from their friends and family to escape the "Troubles?"  Of course not.  Will parents do anything and everything they can to protect their children from violence?  Of course they will.  And when you see this film, all you can think is "who can blame them?"  But Branagh delivers a film that touches the soul with such love and care that it is intoxicating.  See this film.

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