Belfast (2021)
92%RT Audience Score: 92%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
51 wins & 236 nominations total
A deeply personal project for writer-director Kenneth Branagh, Belfast transcends its narrative deficits with powerful performances and directorial craft.
Belfast is a heartwarming and emotional film that takes you on a journey through the eyes of a young boy growing up in a city torn apart by conflict. Kenneth Branagh’s direction and storytelling are top-notch, and the use of Van Morrison’s music adds an extra layer of nostalgia and sentimentality. While some critics may find it manipulative and derivative, I found myself welling up with tears at least three times. It’s a must-see for anyone who loves a good coming-of-age story with a touch of history and a lot of heart. Plus, who doesn’t love a twinkly-eyed childhood memoir?
Production Company(ies)
Hell’s Kitchen Films, Universal Pictures,
Distributor
Focus Features
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
Filming Location(s)
Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for some violence and strong language
Year of Release
2021
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Atmos
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 37m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United Kingdom
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 12, 2021 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 2, 2021
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Belfast, Kenneth Branagh, drama, PG-13, Caitriona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, Jude Hill, Colin Morgan, written by Kenneth Branagh, directed by Kenneth Branagh, produced by Kenneth Branagh, Laura Berwick, Becca Kovacik, Tamar Thomas, box office gross $9.2M, powerful performances, directorial craft, personal project, narrative deficits, uplifting, tragic details, dialogue, stable community, understanding life, joy, laughter, music, movies, childhood, adulthood, world turned upside down, loving community, personal experience, Troubles, Protestant mobs, Irish Catholics, autobiographical, soundtrack, Van Morrison songs, labor of love, immensely moving, feelgood memoir, growing up, problem of perspective, childhood experiences, scars, hearts, sweet, neat, light, vivid, soulful, snapshot, swelling uncertainty, emotional filters, filmmaker, city’s history, proud, scars, hearts, Oscar frontrunner, manipulative, sentimental, sincere, affectionate, involving, childhood memoir, perfectly enjoyable, simple TV movie-of-the-week, crowd-pleasing, complex story, greater nuance, scrutiny, feel-good movie of the year, solid film, young boy, gangs, hidden messages, classic black and white films, Bicycle Thieves, terrific cinematography, simple, subtle screenplay, immersed in story
Worldwide gross: $49,142,744
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $52,735,088
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,301
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 5,750,828
US/Canada gross: $9,250,870
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $10,061,308
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,612
US/Canada opening weekend: $1,779,410
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $1,935,298
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,209
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Judi Dench – Granny
Jamie Dornan – Pa
Ciarán Hinds – Pop
Jude Hill – Buddy
Colin Morgan – Billy Clanton
Director(s)
Kenneth Branagh
Writer(s)
Kenneth Branagh
Producer(s)
Kenneth Branagh, Laura Berwick, Becca Kovacik, Tamar Thomas
Film Festivals
Telluride, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
51 wins & 236 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Writing Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (318) | Top Critics (70) | Fresh (275) | Rotten (43)
Whimsical in the most imaginative sense, their conversations make it very easy to give [Kenneth Branagh] the benefit of the doubt. If the reality was not like this, it should have been.
February 7, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Sandra Hall
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
The film, with a soundtrack of mostly familiar but appropriate Van Morrison songs, is clearly a labour of love, and the final scenes are immensely moving.
February 7, 2022 | Rating: 4.5/5
David Stratton
The Australian
TOP CRITIC
Kenneth Branagh’s unabashedly feelgood memoir of growing up in Belfast as the Troubles erupted in the late 1960s suffers from a problem of perspective.
January 22, 2022 | Rating: 2/5
Simran Hans
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
I loved it.
January 22, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
Charlotte O’Sullivan
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
The film is manipulative, and sentimental, and it does sometimes feel derivative… But it is also sincere, affectionate, involving and presses its buttons so deftly I welled up exactly as I was supposed to. At least three times.
January 21, 2022
Deborah Ross
The Spectator
TOP CRITIC
A twinkly-eyed childhood memoir – and rigorously fashioned to be an Oscar frontrunner.
January 21, 2022 | Rating: 3/5
Clarisse Loughrey
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A sweet, neat and light but still vivid and soulful snapshot of growing up amid swelling uncertainty.
June 25, 2022
Sarah Ward
Concrete Playground
A portrait with emotional filters from a filmmaker defined by his city’s history… Branagh feels proud of his childhood experiences in Belfast, of the scars they left and the hearts they broke. [Full review in Spanish]
June 15, 2022
Erick Estrada
Cinegarage
Belfast conforms itself into a pretty fable about pain. [Full review in Spanish]
June 8, 2022
Javier Ocaña
El Pais (Spain)
The film is awarded more for its wrapping than for its content. [Full review in Spanish]
May 25, 2022 | Rating: 3/5
Alejandro G. Calvo
Sensacine
… More reverie than vigor, a children’s story painted with gray tears and perfect melodies. [Full review in Spanish]
May 18, 2022 | Rating: 3/5
Paula Vázquez Prieto
La Nación (Argentina)
Escapes absolute objectivity and enamors its audience with nostalgia, and quality.
[Full review in Spanish]
May 13, 2022 | Rating: 4.5/5
Luis Angel H. Mora
Cine Premiere…
Plot
Belfast, 15 August 1969. Surrounded by sporadic violence and growing danger, nine-year-old Buddy finds himself confronted with the ugly reality of sectarian conflict. And, as the suffocating stranglehold of increasing turmoil tightens around his once-peaceful working-class neighbourhood, Buddy tries his best to understand The Troubles
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Judi Dench stars in Belfast as Granny.
Kenneth-Branagh.jpg
