Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast” wins at Toronto

I have vowed to avoid Branagh at all costs.

Universal had the Oscar campaign on all four cylinders the minute it premiered at Telluride, so I thought that was a sign they were very confident it would do well at Toronto. A BP Oscar win wouldn’t surprise me given it’s a weak year, and Kenneth Branagh has basically worked with everyone in Hollywood so he’s have a lot of ground support.

I never want to see another movie involving this guy after what he did to Hercule Poirot in Orient Express. He completely ruined the character because he's too vain to play a fat dandy.

Is the cast in Belfast diverse?

R4, yes, I believe it includes both Catholics and Protestants.

R3, I hated that movie, but then I hate most of the modern versions of Christie novels, whether the desecration arises out of vanity or "modern sensibilities".

OTOH, I have to admit, this one looks good. Jamie Dornan is gorgeous in the trailers - reason enough to at least put it on the "maybe" list. If it's really in B&W, as the trailers seem to indicate, then I'll probably see it because a period film in B&W is my idea of movie heaven.

Is this 'Belfast' as "bad-ass" as Brangah's latest abominations?

I saw the film at TELLURIDE. Jamie Dornan was outstanding in the film…the movie deserves the accolades as do SPENCER & C’MON C’MON.

is it a musical or was that just the trailer?

I lurve Jamie Dornan. He had me at "The Fall."

Jamie Dornan was the standout in the god awful Barb and Star Visit Vista Del Mar

Dornan in a decent film. That’s the big news here.

His career certainly needs this and unknown Judy Dench should get an Oscar nom out of this.

Dornan is a very underrated actor. I am not talking about his "Fifty Shades of Gray" shit. I think he has a great career ahead of him.

[quote] Judy Dench

Judi Dench!

Dornan who has previously approached publicity reluctantly, is basically jubilant promoting this. He’s a very hungry actor who has struggled to find footing in Hollywood.

Jamie is hot as hell. Even as as a serial killer in The Fall. Very arresting eyes and demeanor, plus that accent! And his body. He's very intense.

I only ever saw the first 50 Shades movie so I'm judging him from his other works. I'm looking forward to seeing this movie.

Dornan and Balfe going into supporting alongside Hines and Dench

Jude Hill will go Lead

Given what appears to be a weak year, they all may get in.

The movie got two five star reviews from The Times and the Guardian ahead of the London premiere. Dornan actually Instagram’d it, he’s riding this high for all its worth.

Jamie Dornan was scary as all hell in The Fall!

I dislike modern black and white films, such a pretentious choice.

Branagh has always been a much better director than he is an actor.

He's still despised by some sections of the British media because he achieved huge success so early in his career, despite being working class and having no family connections, and was totally unapologetic about it.

Judi Dench's accent in this sounds dodgy but she was generally above average in Philomena.

Anyone seen it?

This film being popular in Canada was about as predictable as the Vatican selling rosaries and prayer cards.

It must be Brits going on and on about this "looks good" nonsense. From the trailers alone it screams 'trying-too-hard'. Schmaltzy, pandering. And forgive me Irish friends but another movie about how miserable Ireland was/is for poor people, or another movie about The Troubles and tribulation of their bizarre infighting over religion, it's all just been done to death. In a world with so much horror, this subject matter seems almost silly to waste time on.

Who’s the guy dancing in the OP? Who’s the girl?

[quote]Who’s the guy dancing in the OP? Who’s the girl?

That's Irish actor Jamie Dornan, famous for his role in Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar and Irish actress Caitríona Balfe, famous for her role in Now You See Me.

Saw this today. It’s beautiful crafted and achingly personal, as good as the childhood reminiscences of Bergman or Fellini, or Spielberg. Go see it and bring tissues.

Sorry, it's really awful. cutesy and verrrry twee.

[quote] That's Irish actor Jamie Dornan, famous for his role in Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar and Irish actress Caitríona Balfe, famous for her role in Now You See Me.

So nobodies then.

Belfast plays like how Iraq is described in "Team America", children swimming in chocolate rivers and laughing as they chase bubbles. Choreographed to an inch of its life, every passer-by on obstructed cue. Even the sickly ad campaign looks like "Billy Elliot 2". Sorry, I hate the idea of Branaugh getting an Oscar for this rubbish.

I saw Kenneth tonight, he's not tall. Also saw Jamie. He walked past me and made eye contact. He was walking to his SUV and was thisclose to me as he walked past. no way he's 5'11. but he isn't ugly. he isn't drop dead gorgeous either. above average.

Where was this, r29?

R29, nyc

[quote]but he isn't ugly. he isn't drop dead gorgeous either. above average.

I'm not disagreeing with you, R29, but I find this a shocking statement. Jamie always looks like perfection

But but but but . . . It's not about POC!

How can it win?!

Saw it last night, lovely and bittersweet, a really good movie.

I saw this on Sunday. I thought it was a charming film. I especially loved the performances. It's not really a movie about The Troubles. That's just the backdrop to several small moments of one boy's childhood during the time. It's a family story about life during wartime where the conflict is something going on in the background and occasionally makes its way to the foreground. It's similar to John Boorman's "Hope and Glory" in that way - what it was like to be a child living in a chaotic time.

[quote] Where was this, [R29]?

Everard Baths

I’m recommending it to my family and friends, but I don’t want to oversell it, because it is pretty slight, so I don’t want anyone to expect the second coming

Belfast will clean up at the Oscars because Jamie Dornan must be honored!

I thought Kenneth looked better in person.

[quote]Jamie Dornan was the standout in the god awful Barb and Star Visit Vista Del Mar

I could only make it about 30 minutes before I stopped watching. God, what a piece of shit.

R26 Did not see this movie

[quote]And forgive me Irish friends but another movie about how miserable Ireland was/is for poor people, or another movie about The Troubles and tribulation of their bizarre infighting over religion, it's all just been done to death.

My great-grandmother left that shithole Belfast in the 1920s and never went back. She lived to the early 90s. She had nothing but awful things to say about Belfast and thanked God every day she was able to get out and make it to the US.

Eh, I thought Barb and Star was pretty funny. But I wasn't expecting something deep or moving. Sometimes I just want to watch something goofy and wacky. Kind of like Austin Powers or the Brady Bunch movies.

And yes, Dornan was the standout. He should do more comedy. And get naked.

Jamie nekkid

r22, it wasn't about any poor people, nor was it really about "the troubles."

Yes, I'm sick of those Irish movies like Angela's ashes...how many more do we need?

Jamie is adorable in Wild Mountain Thyme opposite Emily Blunt.

I've had my eye on Dornan since Marie Antoinette.

R26 INDEED saw this movie on the day it came out with no prejudice nor expectations. And it was torture. The kind of movie where bombs and cars blow up all over the place and not a single apple cheeked child gets a scratch. If only the real Belfast had been so lucky,

It's reaaaaaaally bad. Watch Jamie and his brood singing 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" without cringing, I dare you. Twee twee twee.

I think you will find in the weeks and months ahead that many people will disagree with you.

Those people love "Forrest Gump" too. Means fuckall. The movie is treacle.

BELFAST is not very good. The script is full of holes and there is no way to fix that.

John Boorman's "Hope and Glory" is one of my top 5 favorite films (it's about the London Blitz as seen through the eyes of a young boy). This movie is fairly similar in that way, and while I liked it very much, it doesn't top "Hope and Glory."

Avoid this stupid movie. It ain't all that. Ciaran Hinds is the best of it, but only if you're a student or fan of fine acting.

1. Why does Judi Dench stay behind and not emigrate with her family? Her husband just died, but she chooses Belfast over family. At least explain it, fer fuck's sake.

2. Caitriona Balfe refuses to leave Belfast, even after she and her children are nearly slaughtered, even with her husband working in London, even with her begging him to be a stronger presence for the boys. In the face of all this, she won't budge. Worse, she marches her young son INTO a riot to teach him a lesson. The character is irrational. Lots of credit to Balfe for making her a little bit sympathetic. (Unless you think about any of this rotten script.)

3. Jamie Dornan constantly is worried about money, but commutes twice monthly between London and Belfast. He comes and goes so often in this movie, that it's difficult to follow a time line. He wants his family to move to London, to be safe and to be together, but does not much make of a play for it. No, he just goes along with his irrational wife.

4. The black and white cinematography is flat and muddy. Except for when it switches to color. As a choice, this is terribly heavy handed.

I've already seen this film before: Hope and Glory, Distant Voices Still Lives, The Long Day Closes, etc.

All I see in the trailer is cliche after cliche.

R35 - Hope and Glory is one of my favourite films. If Belfast approaches it in quality, why not? There's nothing wrong with an homage sort of film if it still breathes on its own.

That last scene in Hope and Glory, with the boy depressed about going back to school and finding when he gets there that a German doddle-bug has hit the school and the kids are running riot in the schoolyard throwing papers about, and he can go back to spending time fishing with Grandad, screaming, "Thank you, Adolf!" was priceless.

^*doodle bug (not doddle bug)

r54, opinions are not facts. and i disagree with yours.

I didn't think it was a stupid movie at all. I thought it was quite charming and warm. Some people may like it while others may not. Opinions are subjective and everyone is entitled to one. I would recommend this movie to others because I enjoyed it. If it sounds like something you wouldn't enjoy, don't watch it. But don't avoid it either, just because someone else didn't like it.

[quote]I would recommend this movie to others because I enjoyed it.

That's absolutely valid.

But that you enjoyed it does not mean it's a good film, well made.

Like Taco Bell. Or White Castle.

I look forward to seeing it. I love this kind of movie.

But damn TIFF are such star fuckers.

R22 Those films are mostly fodder for modern Irish people to coo to themselves about how European and sophisticated they are now.

Pointless for foreign audiences- except apparently Canadians, which honestly fits the bill for them.

[quote] and Irish actress Caitríona Balfe, famous for her role in Now You See Me.

You ... you bitch!

What is The Troubles? A movie?

[quote]But that you enjoyed it does not mean it's a good film, well made.

And that you didn't enjoy it does not mean it's a bad film, poorly made.

Opinions ≠ Facts

Well, I for one am disappointed that DL gave "Belfast" a mixed review; I adore Jamie Dornan & it looked like the kind of schmaltzy good cry kind of movies that are always enjoyable around the holidays. And Judy Dench isn't Queen Victoria again, so at least there's that.

The fascist state of Toronto!

This movie is not about the troubles, nor is it about poor people. Go and enjoy, plus it's only about 90 minutes, a real blessing.

r66, I don't think DL gave it mixed reviews, I think it is one person posting over and over that they didn't like it.

Nope, there are a few of us.

it looks predictable...

The Toronto Trans Collective have issued a statement:

[quote]The Toronto Trans Collective condemns the decision by the Toronto International Film Festival to honor the movie Belfast directed by Ken Banner. Awarding a movie with no trans representation is an act of literal violence against trans people, as is the decision to cast white able bodied cishet actors like Jamies Dorman, Judy Bench and Catrina Balf. The Toronto Trans Collective urges a boycott of this movie and calls on Kenneth Branagh to make changes to his upcoming movie Death On The Nile by featuring at least one trans character, preferably one who is murdered in an act of literal violence and who can be played by a trans actress of color. The Toronto Trans Collective also condemns the movie being shot in black and white as an attack on non binary people

[quote]Awarding a movie with no trans representation is an act of literal violence against trans people, as is the decision to cast white able bodied cishet actors like Jamie Dornan.

Indeed, who would not have preferred to see Jacob Tobia instead of Jamie Dornan?

r72 I'm hoping that is a parody but today you never know...

JFC r73 kill that thing with FIRE!

What IS that?

Just saw it in a theater full of eldergays. Meh+. Pretty to look at. Some good acting. Dame Judy is good as always.

Saw it today, and I'm in the "loved it" camp. Because of the B&W, I did find myself wondering what colors their dinnerware was.

Well-made film with a terrible screenplay and some flinty characterizations, but it's crowd-pleasing if you can turn off the critical parts of your brain for 90 minutes.

Wait for it to come to streaming; you can get mighty drunk if you take a shot every time there's a musical interlude.

Take a swig every time you hear the word "wee" and you'll be more than a wee bit drunk, I assure you.

Not a single cigarette in the whole movie.

R79, but how do you know?

This film needed English subtitles.

Just saw it. It's a nice film, but it'stoo prettified. The father and hte mother are played by the drop-dead handsome Jamie Dornan and the even more beautiful Caitriona Balfe, and they both look like they've wandered in from a modeling agency. Balfe's breasts and especially her legs are so spectacular that you can't believe she doesn't get wolf-whistled everywhere she goes. And their house is absolutely spotless.

Jude Hill as the child actor at the center is the sugariest of all though--he looks and behaves like an absolute angel. Kenneth Branagh must have a really exalted sense of himself as a child.

Also: the street the family lives on is so obviously a movie set. It's even more obviously faked than the set for the street where the Russells and Van Rhijns live in "The Gilded Age."

The besy thing in the film by far is Ciaran Hinds, who is fantastic as the grandfather.

It was about the Troubles R45. It was a very moving and fairly accurate portrayal of the time, as relayed to me by some British friends who were over there. Not surprising given it's based on Branagh's life. It's very much about how innocent people got caught up in the violence not only between Catholics and Protestants, but also how that was a cover for the gangs, smugglers, and other affiliated criminals who made use of the conflict for their own ends. That was what Colin Morgan's character hinted at with his "protection" racket, and it only got a lot worse the longer it went on.

People tend to think the conflict was about religion but those criminal networks, corrupt officers, and shadowy gangs were the ones profiting of the chaos - religion was just an excuse. And, from what I've heard, they're all still there, waiting for the Troubles to start again.

When I've been there, r83, the people there have made it clear they want to put that time behind them.

r82, I agree with your comments, but I wonder if the beautiful parents, the immaculate house, the clean cut movie set street, etc., were all meant to convey nostalgia for the idealized world of childhood.

That's a good workable theory, r85, and would be given further credence by the father singing "Everlasting Love" so beautifully and the mother dancing so superbly to it.

I don't think it was a good choice though. It made the film seem artificial. The parents came across like Ken and Barbie (though i am fan of both actors in other roles).

Just got back from the cinema. Watched it.

It was OK. We are to believe the father is away half of the year, coming home every two weeks for the weekend… but he's in about every scene, so there's that. The mother not wanting to leave her dreary, violence-infested neighbourhood for a lovely English home with a garden makes no sense at all.

Dame Judi, who I hope was wearing a fat suit, was stellar and provided comic relief.

Having just seen Belfast, it’s charming and sweet with multiple grace notes which is very difficult to pull off. The habitually boorish Ciaran Hinds was perfectly pitched. The Van Morrison musical cues became obnoxious after The Bright Side Of The Road played while our pint sized hero stood across the road from his crush. Judi Dench was a nonentity.

Of the post-lockdown Love Letters To Cinema it is head and shoulders above Babylon and Empire Of Light - haven’t seen The Fablemans.

Babylon is a love letter to cinema in the same way that Fatal Attraction is a romantic comedy.

But Belfast is much better than The Fabelmans, which is only interesting because of what we know about Steven Spielberg. Nothing about Belfast depends on knowing the kid grows up to be an acclaimed actor-director. Both movies are about how parents will always be somewhat unknowable to their kids, but Belfast is better because Branagh's feelings about his parents are less complicated, and Spielberg has never been great at emotional nuance.