Belfast (Kenneth Branagh)

[Peng]

[Peng]

This is definitely better than, say, Branagh's own Sleuth remake, but even that stinker somehow exhibits more of a cinematic rhythm than Belfast. May be a case of the director being so close to the material that he recreates childhood scenes and vignettes whole, but then is unable to string them to flow properly as narrative. As much as that makes the film not too schmaltzy, it also leads to a muted impact, with the pacing weirdly clipped and editing jumping around before any sequence has emotional momentum going on proper.

Plus, for every good scene ("Everlasting Love" deservedly singled out as a banger), there are a few simplistic, misguided ones too (Ma's insistence on her kid returning that damn stolen detergent to supermarket in the middle of deadly civil war is a headscratching howler). This is really saved halfway by its performances; the main kid is just there, but its adult cast is very good, especially Ciarán Hinds, and Judi Dench's final speech is among the very few truly affecting scenes in the whole film. 6/10

[transmogrifier]

With this and Spielberg's next film, have filmmakers started to realize that nothing really interests them as much as themselves?

[megladon8]

With this and Spielberg's next film, have filmmakers started to realize that nothing really interests them as much as themselves?

Branagh has always been utterly fascinated with himself.

I always felt his character in Harry Potter was so aptly cast.

[Ivan Drago]

Thought I had posted my thoughts on this here! In any event, here they are.

[Morris Schæffer]

The promotional material for this really looks familiar. The B&W posters with the yellow lettertype for instance are very similar to Cuaron's Roma. As a movie I would imagine that Belfast seems somewhat similar too.