I was too young to understand the explosion of civil violence in Northern Ireland at the end of the 1960s but not so young that it didn’t soon register. But it didn’t seem relevant to my little life in rural Hampshire, any more than images from the Nigerian civil war or the Middle Eastern conflicts. It was to all intents and purposes a foreign country.
Is that how children today view Ukraine or is it better explained? I hope the latter.
It’s this realisation that makes the opening sequences of the film, Belfast such a jolt. Branagh uses a neat directorial trick at the start by showing us, in glorious UHD technicolour modern Belfast with its many cultural wonders. The camera swoops around iconic structures and art installations, eventually ending in a residential street where the colour quickly bleaches out, the cars disappear and children and adults, dressed for the late sixties and playing the games that were ubiquitous back then emerge.
It’s a neat shock, a clever device that lets us know that whatever we are going to see, it’s not like that anymore, however much some gangsters and other ne’er-do-wells would like it to return. The bigger shock for me is in the familiarity of that street. I never lived in a inner city as a child but I knew of those grey terraces, of the tarmac based games, dodging adult legs and accusations. It could be Average Town Anywhere. It wasn’t far removed from the daily experiences of so many.
And yet it was, or it was to be in short order. Soon enough simmering tensions between communities spilt over and the world tilted on its axis. Civilisation is but a thin veneer: was that ever more true than in those early days of the Troubles.
The film is seen through the eyes of a young lad, cheeky, resilient, home loving and adaptable yet confused by all the bursts of mayhem that swirled about him and then returning to the mean of a scabby-kneed pre teen. It’s based on Branagh’s own childhood and can’t help but stop me to think ‘that could have been me’. Sliding doors.
I’ve lived through riots in the early 80s and 2011. I’ve wondered how far the civil disturbances would go and the answer has been: not far. But let’s never forget the Troubles, whatever their historic context. Ask Kviv residents if they can actually believe it could happen there and yet it is.
Belfast is an enjoyable story, a fantastic performance by the young lead and uplifting, funny and heart warming at times. But it is also, at least to this old git, a reminder that our cracked, wobbly, one legged system of society is hopeless, irredeemably flawed and utterly and continually frustrating and yet… it’s a fuck sight better than any of the alternatives and on that I will give ground to no one.
Indeed when I think about it, I’d hate it to work too well; if it did we’d get more than complacent and then we really are stuffed
TanGental 
I must look for this movie Geoff. Fantastic review.
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Thanks. It’s a worthy winner of one gong
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👍🏼
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Having lived, and served, in Northern Ireland, I know that the majority of people were, and are, normal, everyday, decent folk who wished that the minority would come to their senses and let everybody get on with their lives peacefully. That, I believe, applies all over the world!
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So true. A friend served too in the 70s and still finds ghe juxtaposition between the normally sights – same shop same architecture and the nervous edge he lived with. Hope the memories aren’t to bad.
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I still check under my car before I get in!
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It’s horrid to think that might be true
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It really is true but nowadays I’m checking tyres and making sure the exhaust hasn’t fallen off. I spent so many years checking vehicles before I got in that it is an automatic action. It wasn’t just Northern Ireland. There were car bombs on the mainland, in Germany and Holland, Cyprus, and Gibraltar.
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Hence the highly polished boots…
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Exactly!
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I want to see this film.
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It’s worth it Stevie. It triggers some strange memories
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I’ve been meaning to see this. It sounds impactful – and I like the actors. Netflix here I come.
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One other commentator, Anabel who is the same age reminded me that we were always being told that there was a riot and rubber bullets were used. At the time that sounded like a toy but these days I realise how awful that must be.
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Such a euphemism – the Troubles. Being a couple of years older than you, the situation did impinge on my consciousness quite a bit. It’s difficult to know but with hindsight, maybe it would have been better if Cromwell had never set foot in Ireland at all, although I seem to remember Elizabeth I’s generals invaded and occupied it because the Catholicism and possible alliance with Spain was seen as a threat.
Many thanks for the review – would like to see this. It sounds as though the film does the conflict justice and comes from an authentic source (KB himself, who I was pleased to see won an Oscar for the screenplay) although, not having seen it, I hope the Catholic side was well represented too!
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It’s very balanced in terms of religion and its the nascent UDV who come out as the troublemakers
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Thanks Geoff – I too will track this down. One editorial question, regarding your sentence; “…then returning to the mean of a scabby need pre teen.” I’m missing something here. I get scabby and pre-teen of course, but what are you saying with “need”? Perhaps a typo (rare with you brother – but?) did you mean to type “nerd” perhaps or am I drifting off to dementia? A great review for a Branagh fan like me.
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Ah. I meant kneed as in his knees were covered in scabs. I will change!!
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That confusticated me too, 😀 until I decoded it. 😀
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I inserted it on a knees to know basis…
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Heh, heh, heh 😀
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One of our former brother-in-laws grew up in NI. He kept a rubber bullet in the mantelpiece. It was HUGE, not what I had imagined at all. It certainly sharpened my hazy impression of what the Troubles were like. Not seen Belfast yet, but I should.
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It’s compelling and touching and a hard watch too. I’ve not seen a rubber bullet but they were ubiquitous on the news weren’t they?
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Yes, and I imagined something maybe a couple of inches long at the most. This was – ahem – solid d*ldo size!
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I’ll take your word for the comparator….
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😀Just something I’ve heard about, you understand.
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You librarians…. Still waters….
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I remember the troubles, Geoff. Bombs going off in towns and cities, injuring innocent bystanders. Horses killed and injured on Horseguards Parade, police killed and maimed. But we didn’t let the danger stop us from carrying out our everyday lives. People still visited London, went on holiday, etc.
Nowadays, the idea of civilians being killed is looked on with horror and as unacceptable. Not that it’s stopped Putin, nor the Syrian regime, nor the many conflicts in Africa.
However, it was accepted in WW2 that civilian casualties were to be expected and a part of war. Not so nowadays.
Numbers killed, sometimes quoted in the hundreds, are, rightly considered too many, but they are not in the numbers of previous wars, when millions could be killed.
I think that much of humanity has made strides in restricting war, except for these rogue dictators who are still managing to get and stay in power. Sadly, I suspect they will always manage to manipulate their people.
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I doubt we will ever be free of nutters and despots. Living in the New Forest during my teens it all seemed a world away . Then I went to University and some of those tensions began to seep in. I’d love to think they’d never come back but who knows
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Just shows how byoy can still have a wonderful childhood in terrible times 💜💜
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Resilience in children is remarkable
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Haven’t seen this KB offering yet, but I did catch his Hercule Poirot on the Nile the other night. Sumptuous, was the word that came to mind.
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He gets a bit of a bum rap here over his Christie adaptations but Belfast had even the staunchest critic purring
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A thoughtful and thought provoking post, Geoff. I must see Belfast, it sounds superb.
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definitely worth a watch
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