Belfast

The opening scene in Belfast shows a peaceful neighborhood suddenly erupt into violence. Nine year old Buddy (Jude Hill) is playing down the street, pretending to be a knight, armed with a trash can lid and a wooden sword. As he runs home for tea time, his friendly neighbors call out to him. Then he sees a swarm of angry men turn down his street. Stunned, the boy just stands in the street as chaos happens all around him until his mother drags him inside their home. Inside, he and his older brother take cover under the kitchen table. The boys can see the violence from their front window, as a car explodes right in front of their home. This sets the tone of innocence among violence in Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast. 

After the initial attack, life continues in the once quiet Irish neighborhood. A check point is established down the street, complete with sandbags, barricades and armed men. Buddy and the children still walk to school. And Buddy’s father (Jamie Dornan) still leaves for weeks at a time for work, often in London. Buddy’s mother (Caitriona Balfe) is left alone to guide her boys through the turbulent times, not an easy task, especially with a few bad influences in the neighborhood. Eventually, the family must ask themselves whether or not to leave Belfast, the only home they’ve ever known. 

Prevalent in Buddy’s life are his grandparents, Granny (Judi Dench) and Pop (Ciarán Hinds). The grandparents are a wonderful, slightly cantankerous couple offering wisdom to their grandson and making the audience laugh and cry. They make such a lovely impact in the family’s life that it makes the thought of leaving Belfast unbearable. And they make such a strong impact in the film that both Dench and Hinds earned supporting actor Oscar nominations. 

One of my favorite scenes in Belfast takes place in a movie theater. The whole family, Granny included, goes out to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It’s so sweet and wholesome to see them all lean forward as the flying car takes its first dive off a cliff and then see them singing along together with the movie. It’s a fun and safe escape from all the violence in the streets, grandpa’s fading health and all the turbulence in their lives. 

Belfast is currently nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, sound, and original screenplay. Down to Joy by Van Morrison is nominated for original song. Kenneth Branagh is nominated for best director, his second nomination in this category. And as I said previously, Dench and Hinds are both nominated for their supporting roles as the grandparents. I seriously doubt this film will leave empty handed. 

Belfast is a beautiful, stirring movie filmed in glorious black and white. It’s Kenneth Branagh’s most personal film, depicting his own time as a child in Belfast. This being such a personal story brings out the innocence, family ties and simple, wholesome heart of this story to the forefront over the turbulence. 

“-Be good. And if you can’t be good… –Be careful!”

Philomena

As a mother-to-be, Philomena struck a deep emotional chord.  Lately, I take pride in every kick and jab I endure from the child growing inside me and the thought of ever losing this new life scares me more than I have ever known.  Seeing the story of a young mother having her child taken away by women she was raised to trust and then search for him fifty years later was heartbreaking, powerful and makes me hold onto every kick and hiccup tighter.

Based on a true story, Philomena (Judi Dench) is an elderly Irish woman who kept secret the fact that she had a son as a teenager.  After fifty years of silent grief and wondering, she decides to search for him with the help of a journalist looking for his next big project, Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan).  Together, as a bit of an odd couple, they travel and search for clues to track down Philomena’s long lost son.

Many important and enlightening scenes come from Philomena’s past, when she lived in Sean Ross Abbey.  The nuns there harshly chastise her sin of the flesh she committed, ignorant of its consequences.  She gives birth with no medication to a breech child, both of them lucky to survive.  As pennance and repayment, Phil and other young mothers living there work all day for no pay and have one hour to spend with their children.  This goes on with little to no objection until each girl’s child is sold for adoption without warning or a chance to say goodbye.  The image of young Phil seeing her son for the last time is a tearjerker.

Yet in the present, this aged Philomena is not angry or vengeful.  She is a very sweet woman who still believes in the Catholic church and is even understanding of the nuns she lived with.  Partially, we may see her as naive and ignorant.  She does not seem to have much formal education and is easily impressed by standard niceties on the road.  But I cannot help but be impressed and envy someone who can still have such a rosy outlook on the world when she has been so wronged.

Quite the opposite is Martin, an educated and cynical man who has done well for himself.  It is hard for him to see Phil be so trusting and nice to those who have done her wrong.  He’s the character who speaks up for her, looks for justice and condemns the Catholic church and the nuns for awful things Phil and others have endured,  as many of us in the audience would.

The opposing perspectives of our two lead characters can bring about how one may criticize this film.  On one hand, it can be seen as an attack on the Catholic church, raising awareness and exposing the wrongdoings of Sean Ross Abbey.  The harsh words Martin shares in a climactic scene certainly brings this idea to the forefront.  On the other hand, this film is simply a journey of discovery for sweet Philomena and how she reacts to what she finds may be a shining example of grace and forgiveness.

Philomena is nominated for four Academy Awards, including best picture.  It is also nominated for original score and adapted screenplay.  And Judi Dench is nominated for best actress in a leading role for a fifth time in her career.

What I believe has propelled this film into Best Picture status is the important true story it tells.  In the age of popular shows like 16 and Pregnant, it can be hard, especially for younger viewers, to imagine Philomena’s story.  We clearly see the hardships and wounds of the past and as the film progresses it is a journey that then unfolds like a mystery as we learn more and more about Philomena’s lost child.  This is an important story that needs to be shared for all the wronged mothers from Sean Ross Abbey.  Best of all, it can warm your heart and break it all at the same time.

“I forgive you because I don’t want to remain angry.”

A Room with a View

“Don’t you agree that on one’s first visit to Florence, one must have a room with a view?”

Though I have never been to Florence, I must agree.  Whether I’m looking thirty stories over Boston, sitting in a window to watch the rain pour over the Black Forest or climbing on furniture to peep my head out a skylight to see the Swiss Alps in the distance, it’s always worth it to get a room with a view.  Of course, in A Room with a View, with its Edwardian society, scaling furniture is ever deemed appropriate.  There is a dignified air that must be maintained at all times.  So when Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) and her chaperon Charlotte (Maggie Smith) find themselves view-less in Florence, they hesitate on trading rooms with the kind Emersons, a father and son on holiday.  How rude it would be to leap at such kindness, so the Emersons take the initiative and make the trade, reasoning that, “Women like looking at a view.  Men don’t.”

The trade is worth it and they spend time with the Emersons in Florence.  As Lucy and young George (Julian Sands) experience misadventures together a bond grows which eventually leads to George kissing Lucy on a day in the country.  Unfortunately, Charlotte sees this lewd behavior and must get Lucy back to England without anyone knowing about the incident.  They make a pact to never speak of it to anyone, for the sake of Lucy’s reputation and for Charlotte’s job.

Not long after returning to England, Lucy accepts the proposal of Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day-Lewis).  While socially, this is wonderful for Lucy, it looks like a trap for such a passionate young lady.  Cecil is extremely snobby and cynical, I doubt he could ever know real enjoyment in anything.  Their first kiss, that Cecil is extremely formal and cautious about taking, is so hilariously awkward his glasses nearly fall off.  All it does is make Lucy remember her and George together, the relationships are quite opposite.

Things get stirred up when the Emersons are staying close by.  This puts Lucy and Charlotte into a damage control status.  But it turns out that Charlotte has broken their silent pact and told Eleanor Lavish (Judi Dench), a novelist, about Lucy and George’s moment together.  Now that scene is in full detail in her latest book, which Cecil reads aloud in front of Lucy and George.  This only flares up the flames Lucy left Florence over.  In this society of repression will Lucy choose the safe path with Cecil or the one that will make her happy with George?

I always find Edwardian and Victorian era films so fascinating because of their quiet repression.  In A Room with a View, it seems we’re on the threshold of the modern era and some of the young people are trying to move forward while most of the older generation are trying to hold them back.  We see Lucy playing Beethoven on the piano with such passion and vigor she’s sometimes scolded by older women for it.  Yet, Mr. Emerson (Denholm Elliott) seems to encourage George in his eccentricities and eventually encourages Lucy to accept her love for George.

One scene I was not expecting in this sort of film was the scene where George, Lucy’s younger brother Fred (Rupert Graves) and the priest go for a swim.  It starts off like a normal summertime swim, the boys strip down and splash around.  Eventually they start horsing around and chasing each other naked around the pond.  Surely this is not proper etiquette, and it only gets better when Lucy arrives at the pond hilariously horrified at the nudity displayed before her.  Just remember that British films are very generous about male nudity, you will get more ball shots here than most Edwardian women saw in their lifetime.

I enjoyed A Room with a View much more than I thought I would.  The elegant society, the forbidden romance and tip-toed scheming all drew me in so well.  Plus, it is all filmed in such beautiful scenes and lavishly landscaped courtyards.  Unless you are the kind that can only watch action movies, I highly recommend this film.

“A young girl, transfigured by Italy!  And why shouldn’t she be transfigured?  It happened to the Goths!”