This film brings to mind any number of films (e.g. the award-winning Roma by A. Cuaron and perhaps the newly released Licorice Pizza by P. T. Anderson) where the writer/directors looked back to  the people and places and of their upbringing and told a story in a labor of love.

Though Kenneth Branagh altered some of the details, he grew up in a Protestant family living in a Catholic neighborhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1969 during the “Troubles.”

Shot in black and white, and with the balance of focus falling more on the people than the politics, the tone of the story leans toward perseverance and tenderness rather than resentment or bitterness.

There are several name actors, including an excellent Ciaran Hinds, but Judi Dench, despite her limited role, surprised me. In some scenes, she hardly says a thing, but reveals the place and time through the lines on her face and the mix of strength and resignation in her eyes.

It’s going to win some awards, and deservedly so. It was, in this age of superhero and futuristic or fantastic escapism (some of which I do enjoy), a special treat to watch a drama and an art film again. It was a relief to be taken to a place that was and events that were. I like to believe that I drew more relief–more hope from this somewhat recent past than I probably could have from any futuristic setting.

WRH