The film ‘Belfast’ opens with a violent scene in a Belfast street on 15 August 1969 showing Protestants smashing windows in Catholic homes and others, presumably Catholics, rioting. This was the street in which Kenneth Branagh once lived with his mother, father and older brother. It was mixed Protestant and Catholic. His grandparents (Ciaran Hinds and Judi Dench) lived nearby and were closely involved in the lives of thei
grandchildren.
The script written by Branagh, a successful Shakespearean actor, tells the story of how Branagh’s family became caught up in the sectarian violence that broke out in parts of Belfast after the Civil Rights movement and how eventually in 1969 they decided to leave Belfast and go to live in England. The father (Jamie Dornan) of the young Branagh was already working in England. He came home every other weekend only to find the situation on the street getting worse each time. He feared for his life and the lives of his wife and two boys. His young wife (Caitriona Balfe) stayed home to rear their two boys.
The focus of the film is mainly on the young Branagh when aged about nine years. When the rioting hit the street, he became involved in all kinds of divilment like stealing a bar of chocolate- Turkish Delight-from the local shop on the corner. An RUC man called to talk to his mother about this serious incident. He was sure to get into deeper trouble given all that was happening around him-or so his father thought. At the local school attended by both Catholics and Protestants the young nine year old Branagh became infatuated with a young Catholic girl in his class. A lot is made of this romance. We were not to know if it was going to come to anything because very soon his father decided it was too dangerous for him and his family to live there any longer. So they upped and went to live in England. There he went on to become a successful actor.
You could not fault the actors, nor Van the Man nor the cinematography-but the script!
The final shot in the film has his father expressing his view to young Kenneth that your religion does not matter as long as you respect one another.
This film is yet another misrepresentation of the conflict here. In this film one is led to believe that it was a religious conflict and that it could be resolved if only the natives would learn to respect each other.
This is once again a refusal to recognise the role of the British state in dividing the people here along religious lines and then blaming the people. How disingenuous then to ignore the context of the sectarian hatred and violence in Belfast in 1969.
It is such a pity that this film will be presented all around the world as an accurate representation of the conflict-often referred to as ‘the Troubles’. There will be some who will want to promote the film precisely because it ignores the role of the British in fomenting violence and hatred in the north-east corner of Ireland.
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