Belfast

Actor-director Kenneth Branagh was born in Belfast and lived there with his family until the age of nine, when the growing violence between Protestants and Catholics—what became known as ‘the Troubles’—led his parents to move to England. Wonderful newcomer Jude Hill is the stand-in for Branagh here; he plays a young lad watching his parents (Jamie Dornan and Caitriona Balfe) and grandparents (the perfect Judi Dench and Ciaran Hinds) try to cope with their increasingly fraught existence, circa 1969. Filming largely in black and white (with some magical bursts of colour when the clan goes to the movies), Branagh has fashioned a heartfelt and very moving look back to his formative years.

‘Branagh shifts gears rewardingly from his Agatha Christie adaptations to a far more personal film… He brings off moments of humour and pathos that leave a lasting impact… The main characters are so well drawn and beautifully played that we cannot help getting caught up in their daily struggles… Scenes between Dench and Hinds are among the most beautiful portrayals of a long-term marriage depicted onscreen… The emotion that [the film] builds in the final section…is searing.’—Stephen Farber, The Hollywood Reporter