Written and directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring a stacked cast that includes Jamie Dornan, Caitriona Balfe, Ciaran Hinds, screen legend Judi Dench, and newcomer Jude Hill, Focus Features' latest drama Belfast is a charming, family saga about a young Irish boy coming-of-age during the Northern Ireland Conflict (a.k.a. "The Troubles") in the 1960s.
With the backdrop of the political and religious turmoil at the time (there was some major cultural animosity between Northern Ireland's Protestant and Catholic populations), Belfast features universal themes of tolerance, acceptance, community, family, and being othered that make this one of the season's most emotional, must-watch films.
Out got the chance to speak to Belfast's cast and crew, including Jamie Dornan, Caitriona Balfe, Ciaran Hinds, and writer-director Kenneth Branagh!
"I think that the mother in the film puts very clearly to her husband the sacrifice that they may be making," Branagh told Out when asked about Belfast's messages of otherness and the apprehensions the story's family feels about the possibility of leaving the only home they've ever known. "The security of their children being paramount and bringing them out of this dangerous possibility, offering economic, career, or life opportunities that the kids might not otherwise get. But definitely understanding that there would be a price to pay, not only in terms of separation from that which defines them, family. And then, what might be the relative isolation of being in a new place, where you may not be understood in the same way, may not be appreciated in the same way, where that loss of identity could be critical."
"So, I think trying to understand, compassionately, just how difficult these decisions can be, I think was something where I believe there could be a lot of resonance for other people from around the world," he continued.
Belfast is now playing in theaters.
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