Belfast – A 9 out of 10 on the JWO scale

 

I finally watched Belfast tonight. It is such a sweet, sad and poignant movie. In an era of superhero movies, I was moved to tears by the story. I am glad I watched it at home on HBO so I could put on subtitles. Ironically in the movie one of the characters did not want to move from Ireland because they felt no one would be able to understand them. Somewhat true of the movie as well. Although I normally do not like movies without color, (because the world is in color and we have the technology now) but in this movie, it lent to the bleakness of the circumstances of their lives.

It is the story of a protestant family in Belfast during the troubles in Northern Ireland in the late 1960s.  I have read this is a semi-autobiography of the writer and directors Kenneth Branagh childhood. Although it was during the Troubles, the story did not elaborate on any of the causes or reasons for them.

The movie was about how one family dealt with being caught up in it, and the question of whether to stay in this tight knit community where their family and friends had lived, or to leave to get a fresh start and a better opportunity away from any support system. This is a story that is universal and relatable.

The story is told through the eyes of a young child trying to figure it all out. It really captured what it was like to be a child trying understand about life in general let alone the challenges his parents and community faced. The acting was superb all around.

During the credits at the end there is a message - “For the ones who stayed,” “For the ones who left,” “And for all the ones who were lost.” I sort of felt that way about leaving the Bronx. Although there are not many who stayed in The Bronx, there were too many who were lost.   I grew up in a neighborhood where I did know most of my neighbors and I knew I could always knock on a door for help or a parent would notify my parents if I did something wrong. I do not see that environment being replicated in America. It is why we find our communities in other ways. The movie really made me realize all the multitude of decisions I have made in my life and how very different my life would have been. (for better or worse).

Anyway, Belfast is a heart tugging, tear jerking movie about family and love and the hard choices we have to make in life. It is well worth spending time watching.  

Top Ten Movies and Honorable Mentions

 Top Ten Movies and Honorable Mentions

 Its hard to pick just 10 but here they are.

10/05/10 -  After a long car ride with Kyle which includied

listing every movie we could think of 

among other word games

I realized I left a few movies off the list (changes/additions in bold)

 

1                    The Razors Edge (Bill Murray version)

2                    Field of Dreams

3                    25th Hour

4                    Godfather 2

5                    Godfather

6                    Amores Perros

7                    Lion in Winter

8                    Casablanca

9                    City of God

10                As it is in Heaven

Honorable Mention

Instinct

Rainmaker

Barfly

Boyz in the Hood

ET

Crimes and Misdemeanors

Tender Mercies

Unforgiven

Deer Hunter

Dances with Wolves

Peaceful Warrior

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

Phenomenon

The Last Samurai

The Magnificent Seven

Requiem for a Dream

Finding Forrester

Barton Fink

Encanto - an 8 out 10 - "Talk About It"

 I saw the movie Encanto last night. I had heard people raving about it and talking about the song “We don’t talk about Bruno.” I admit, I am a big Disney fan in general and am surprised I didn’t see this sooner. It was a really good movie. I found myself very emotional at the end of the movie.  

It is a story about a family that has magical powers, except for one child. (I did read one person question if the mother could cure people with food, why did the character have to wear glasses – legit if not a picuyane question)And those magical powers are fading. It is up to the person without the magical powers who is determined to save them. It is a great metaphor. We are often asked to choose to act in ways that others expect us to. Or even in line with what our skills are. Both of these often do not align with what our heart calls us to do. We each have to make such decisions in our lives. The message from this story is that magic comes into lives comes from doing what is meaningful to us not what is expected of us. We are not defined only by what our skills are or what our responsibilities are, but who we are, and the choices we make and we need to advocate for what and who we are.

Also the question about not feeling you do not fit in in a family as well is a common family dynamic that is addressed. Overcoming trauma as well and how it impacts us ongoing and how it impacts how we interact with others is also dealt with. Also how community support is reciprocal and renewing. The music was good enough and enjoyable although not many standouts (this might just be personal preference for me) except We dont talk about Bruno, no, no. But we should, we should talk about it. Talk about it all.

One other thing that I really liked about it was that there was no villain in the movie setting up the good vs. evil. It was just people dealing with their stuff. It was a fun (and extremely colorful) movie to watch, for both children and adults. I highly recommend it.