Line #49 Film/Belfast


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/belfastmovie7.jpg]][[caption-width-right:300:''[[Music/VanMorrison I was Coming Down to Joy.]] Here I Stand with My Everlasting Love.'']]
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3	->''"We all have a story to tell. But what makes each one different is not how the story ends, but rather, the place where it begins."''
4	-->--'''Granny'''
5
6	''Belfast'' is a 2021 ComingOfAgeStory set in the titular UsefulNotes/{{Northern Ir\|eland}}ish city in TheSixties. It follows Buddy, a child living with his working class family as he navigates the culture and social tumult of the era, such as UsefulNotes/TheTroubles.
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8	The movie was written and directed by Creator/KennethBranagh, inspired by his own childhood experiences. It stars Jude Hill as Buddy, Creator/CaitrionaBalfe and Creator/JamieDornan as Buddy's parents, and Creator/CiaranHinds and Creator/JudiDench as his grandparents. The movie was released in the United States on November 12, 2021. The trailer can be seen [[https://youtu.be/Ja3PPOnJQ2k here]].
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11	!!Tropes Associated with Belfast Include:
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13	* ActorAllusion: Buddy gets a Film/JamesBond Aston Martin Corgi toy for Christmas. Creator/JudiDench played M from ''Film/GoldenEye'' until ''Film/{{Spectre}}''.
14	* AndStarring: The main credits end with "And Introducing Jude Hill", after all the other stars have been credited.
15	* ArcNumber: Subtly done: behind Buddy near the beginning of the film (just as the violence is beginning) a house number [[ThirteenIsUnlucky 13]] is shown; at the end, as the bus pulls away taking the family to (presumably) a better life, a different house number [[LuckySeven 7]] is shown.
16	* AuthorAvatar: Buddy's whole family are loosely inspired by Kenneth Branagh's own, with Buddy being his personal stand-in.
17	* BigBad: Billy Clanton fulfills this role, menacing Buddy and his family and [[spoiler:eventually forcing his family to leave Belfast]].
18	* BlastingItOutOfTheirHands: With a brick! Billy Clanton is raising up a gun during the climactic showdown in the street, when Pa throws a brick and knocks the gun right out of his hand.
19	* BookEnds: Color shots of present-day Belfast begin and end the film.
20	* BrickJoke: During one of the early scenes when Buddy's Ma is opening a letter, an advert for washing powder is heard from the TV, boasting that it is biological. Later, after Ma has caught Buddy with the washing powder that he has looted from the shop, she demands to know why he stole it. He tearfully says "It's biological."
21	* CallForward: With Buddy being an AuthorAvatar for Branagh, a few items seen throughout the film, including ''[[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]]'' comics and an Creator/AgathaChristie novel, serve as this for Branagh's [[Film/{{Thor}} later]] [[Film/MurderOnTheOrientExpress2017 film]] [[Film/DeathOnTheNile2022 career]].
22	* ChekhovsSkill: Pa's ImprobableAimingSkills are demonstrated when he does a little WilliamTelling trick, knocking an object off of Will's head by throwing a ball. At the climax of the movie, he tosses a brick and knocks a gun out of Billy Clanton's hand.
23	* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Ma and Pa.
24	* DeliberatelyMonochrome: Excluding the BookEnds montages of modern-day Belfast, Branagh shot the movie in black-and-white, [[SplashOfColor except the movies and the play]].
25	* DiegeticSwitch: "The Ballad of High Noon" is first heard over the TV at Buddy's house as ''Film/HighNoon'' plays, then switches to background music as torch-wielding Protestants patrol the street at night.
26	* EveryCarIsAPinto: Shoving a burning rag into a car's gas tank probably will make it blow up, actually.
27	* GoodParents: Ma and Pa are both lovely, caring parents towards Buddy. Meanwhile, Granny and Pop are equally good grandparents.
28	* HappilyMarried:
29	** Though they're in a rough spot right now and have their share of spats, Ma and Pa's love for each other is still very clear and overcomes any such issues.
30	** Pop and Granny are still very much in love, with their many years together not doing a thing to dim their romance.
31	* HitlerCam: Pa is filmed this way when he's being threatened by Billy to illustrate his resolve. Unusually for this trope, he's shown from the back.
32	* IReadItForTheArticles: Pa takes the family to watch ''Film/OneMillionYearsBC'' and justifies his choice as something that would be educational for the kids (which is funny as the film is notorious for its ArtisticLicense). Ma is skeptical and thinks he just wants to see Creator/RaquelWelch as a NubileSavage.
33	-->'''Ma:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Raquel Welch is one hell of an education.]]
34	* ItWillNeverCatchOn:
35	** Pa, unnerved by the recent riot, says "All that nonsense will stop soon enough." That nonsense lasts for 3 decades.
36	** For a lighter example, Granny scoffs at the concept of a [[Film/ChittyChittyBangBang film about a flying car]] but, when the family go and see it, she's as captivated as Buddy when Chitty flies off the cliff.
37	* KnightOfCerebus: Billy Clanton, a genuinely terrifying presence in an otherwise fairly light-hearted film. [[DownplayedTrope This is downplayed, however]], since the danger of the Troubles is ever-present, even in scenes where Billy is not directly involved.
38	* MamaBear: Ma is angry when she finds that Buddy stole a box of washing powder during a riot, but she becomes ''furious'' when she finds out that it was Moira that led him there in the first place.
39	* MonochromeToColor: Inverted with it starting in color but changing to black and white for most of the movie.
40	* MoodWhiplash: The opening scene is whimsical, with Buddy charging around his street pretending to be a knight, using a trash can lid for a shield — until he is suddenly confronted by an armed Protestant mob bearing down on his neighborhood.
41	* MovingAwayEnding: The movie ends with Buddy and his family leaving Belfast for England, leaving behind only Buddy's grandmother.
42	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Buddy's older cousin Moira, after roping him into Billy Clanton's gang, stands in shock after the confrontation with Clanton and the police, and rushes to hug Buddy and his family afterward.
43	* NoNameGiven: Buddy's family are simply identified as "Ma", "Pa", "Pop", and "Granny". And presumably, "Buddy" is a nickname.
44	* NiceGuy: Pop is the warmest, kindest, and most loving grandfather that a kid could ask for.
45	* OrbitalShot: The camera does two full circles around Buddy as, while he's goofing around in the street, he suddenly comes face-to-face with a Protestant mob, there to drive the Catholics out of the neighborhood.
46	* OscarBait: The film covers several typical Oscar Bait traits: DeliberatelyMonochrome, dealing with people keeping their spirits up during a harsh historical period and for being a VerySpecialEpisode to Branagh as it's partially autobiographical, but ultimately subverted as it didn't earn any Oscars despite getting seven nominations.
47	* ParentsAsPeople: Ma and Pa do a good job of raising their boys right in a properly loving manner. At the same time, it's made clear that these duties are anything but easy, with their unpleasant circumstances weighing heavy on both throughout.
48	* PapaWolf: Pa does ''not'' react kindly to his family being threatened.
49	-->'''Pa:''' Touch my family and I'll kill ya.
50	* ShownTheirWork: According to the December 24 Belfast Telegraph, Christmas Day 1969 was forecast to be "bright, but with squally showers."
51	* SplashOfColor: While most of the film is in black and white, the movies that Buddy goes to see (''Film/OneMillionYearsBC'', ''Film/ChittyChittyBangBang'') are shown in color, as is the stage production of ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'' that he goes to with Granny. One shot captures both the actors from the play in color and the audience in black and white. This is probably meant to demonstrate how much Buddy (and Ken Branagh) like theater and the movies.
52	* ToxicFriendInfluence: Moira, the older cousin. She ropes Buddy into shoplifting, then drags him into her gang, which turns out to be Billy Clanton's Protestant goon squad. After the confrontation with Clanton, she's shown having a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment as the riot still rages behind her.
53	* WorkingClassHero: Buddy and his family.
54	* WouldHurtAChild: Billy has no problem using Buddy as a human shield during a confrontation with the police. Doubles as WouldHitAGirl because he has no issues with using Ma as a shield either.
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58	->"Hello, Belfast!"\

Context Film / Belfast