“Belfast” shows no interest in the city beyond the tiny corner where its characters live, and no exploration of its history and politics
launched his film-directing career with a gilded parade of ambitious Shakespeare productions, including “Henry V” and “Hamlet”, but for the past decade he has been content to be a studio hired hand. Need someone to turn out some competent entertainment featuring your most lucrative intellectual properties? Ken’s your man.
This might all suggest a masterpiece to compare with the film it seems to be emulating, Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma”. But in fact “Belfast” is nowhere near as substantial and wide-ranging as its powerful opening minutes promise. First of all there is a montage, which could have been sponsored by Northern Ireland’s tourism board, showcasing Belfast as a vibrant modern metropolis.
Quite easily, as it turns out. Rather than spoiling this wide-eyed moppet’s fun, the conflict appears to usher in a golden age of sing-a-longs and street parties in the ever-present sunshine; of bucolic outings with his otherwise extraneous brother and his unfeasibly attractive parents ; of heart-to-hearts with his wise and twinkly grandparents .
In the meantime, Buddy’s biggest concern is whether he’ll pluck up the courage to talk to a pretty girl at school. His parents’ biggest concern is whether to leave Belfast and move overseas. Some touching, superbly acted conversations convey how intensely painful it is for them to be pushed out of the city they love. But the alternative is a well-paid job and a large house in a town that isn’t at war with itself, so, as dilemmas go, it could be worse.
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