Belfast

Posted on November 11, 2021 at 5:53 pm

A-

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-3 for strong language and some violence
Profanity:	Strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Alcohol
Violence/ Scariness:	Peril and violence, mobs, sad death of a family member
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:	September 1, 2021
Date Released to DVD:	February 28, 2022

“Buddy! Buddy!” A boy is outside playing with his friends when he hears his mother is calling him home for dinner. He does not think anything of it except perhaps that it’s too bad the game has to stop or that he is hungry, but it is the kind of moment he will look back on as an adult as a moment of perfect safety and comfort, a time of feeling completely at home, supported by the family and the community, a feeling that the world makes sense. It is the kind of memory we come back to when we miss those feelings very much.

Sir Kenneth Branagh came back to those last golden moments of childhood, as many people did, during the Great Pause of the pandemic, when so many of us, even well past childhood, felt a new sense of uncertainty. And so he wrote and directed “Belfast,” based on those moments in his own life, when he was nine, and began to understand for the first time that the world can be a dangerous place.

He hears “Buddy! BUDDY!!” again, but this is not a “come home, where dinner is ready invitation from his mother. This is a sound of pure terror. Nine-year-old Buddy (newcomer Jude Hill) lives on what was once a peaceful street in Belfast, Northern Ireland, but it has. become a center for unrest and violence due to The Troubles, the struggle between the Catholics and Protestants.

Branagh skillfully shows us the world through Buddy’s eyes, though we understand more than he does. Sometimes that is amusing. Sometimes it is heart-wrenching. Buddy’s parents are almost impossibly glamorous and beautiful, as we see through his idealized perspective, and because they are played by the gorgeous (and Irish) Jamie Dornan (Pa) and Caitriona Baize (Ma). Also in the family are grandparents played with asperity and a twinkle in the eye by Dame Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds.

Gorgeous black and white cinematography gives the film the quality of a timeless memory and there are flashes of color when the family sees some Hollywood movies like “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” Another film we get a glimpse of is more to the point, “High Noon.” Buddy’s family loves their home. But The Troubles are forcing everyone to take sides. Pa, whose travel for business has added to the strain has been offered a much better-paying job in England.

Branagh expertly mingles humor and drama, shooting us what Buddy sees but does not fully understand and the way that he gives equal curiosity and weight to all of the new information he is learning and all of the new emotions that he is feeling, including some romantic sentiments about a pretty classmate. The very gifted Hill conveys the purity of these first-time experiences with great simplicity and open-heartedness. Buddy’s story (and Branagh’s) is of a very specific place and time but the bittersweet end of childhood and beginning of deeper understandings is universal and told here with tenderness and compassion.

Parents should know that this movie includes scenes of mob violence with peril and injuries and the very sad death of a family member. Characters drink and smoke and use strong language.

Family discussion: Did the family make the right decision? If you made a movie about your childhood, what story would you tell?

If you like this, try: “The Journey,” about the two men who negotiated a resolution of The Troubles and “The Commitments,” about young Irish musicians forming a music group

Artemis Fowl

Posted on June 11, 2020 at 5:16 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	4th - 6th Grade
Profanity:	Some schoolyard language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Extended fantasy-action style violence and peril, reference to death of a parent
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	June 12, 2020

The twelve-year-old criminal mastermind of the Artemis Fowl series of books by Eoin Colfer is, as one might suspect, slightly nice-ified in this Disney version originally intended for the big screen but now coming to DisneyPlus. One might also suspect that Disney would call on the most spectacularly talented visual artists they could find to make this a family-friendly, gorgeously designed action fantasy.

Fans of the book will need to keep an open mind, as the storyline and characters have been re-aligned. As in the original, Artemis Fowl (Ferdia Shaw) is a prodigy. He defeats a chess master in five moves and spots his therapist’s treasured family heirloom as a fake. He is alone most of the time because his adored father (Colin Farrell) travels a lot on urgent but mysterious business trips. When they are together, Artemis loves listening to his father’s stories of Irish myths, filled with magical creatures and enchanted objects.

And then Artemis senior is kidnapped by the mysterious Opal Koboi, who gives Artemis three days to retrieve a powerful artifact, or his father will be killed. Artemis learns that the stories his father told him were not just fairy tales. And that the Irish blessing poem he recited was a clue in case of just exactly the kind of emergency that he now faces.

The shift to give Artemis a less criminal motive makes sense, especially since the character’s personality is cool and adult-ish at all times. At one point, he is asked if he is scared since, as through the entire movie, he is hyper-rational and shows very little emotion. His calm response is that he is, but it is better to be scared than dead. Knowing that he is doing everything to get his father back and, not incidentally, save the world, keeps us on his side.

As in the book, the film also balances out his quiet demeanor by surrounding him with colorful characters whose skills come in handy in searching for the mysterious weapon. Josh Gad is nearly unrecognizable and a lot of fun as a giant dwarf with exceptional skills at digging and hair that can pick a lock. Dame Judi Dench is a hoot as Commander Root, who is kind of the CEO of the land of magical creatures, barking out orders when it is necessary to stop time or wipe the memories of some humans who have had an unexpected encounter with magic. Basically, she is M with Spock ears. Loyal elf Holly Short (Lara McDonnell with the requisite spark and sparkle) is one of Commander Root’s must trusted aides.

Production designer Jim Clay had a dream job and got a dream result. Who wouldn’t want to dream up a fabulous mansion on the coast of Ireland, filled with Victorian furnishings and wonderful curios, not to mention an entire magical land? And who would not want to spend 90 minutes luxuriating in all of the fabulous details? The world of the film is truly magical, and the adventure looming ahead is deliciously enticing.

Parents should know that this film includes extended fantasy/action peril and violence with weapons including guns. Characters use some schoolyard language. There are references to the death of a parent and another parent is threatened.

Family discussion: Would you rather be a goblin, a fairy, or a troll? How did Artemis get Holly to trust him?

If you like this, try: the Artemis Fowl books and the book and movie series about Percy Jackson and Harry Potter

Tea With the Dames

Posted on September 19, 2018 at 12:00 pm

A-

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Not rated
Profanity:	Some strong and salty language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Champagne
Violence/ Scariness:	None
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie (gender and aging)
Date Released to Theaters:	September 21, 2018

Fair warning. It was about ten seconds into this film when the first “Hello, darling” dissolved any critical distance I could muster, and by the time about five minutes later when we got to a “How ghastly,” as only Dame Maggie Smith can say it, I melted into a little puddle of pure happiness. So if seeing four of the greatest actresses in the world talk about their decades of experience and friendship is not for you, then ignore my gushing about how much I love them and how much I loved this film.

Dame Judi Dench, Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Joan Plowright, and Dame Eileen Atkins all came of age in the late 1950’s, beginning in theater and then movies and television. Director Roger Michell (“Notting Hill”) gives us a chance to eavesdrop on one of their get-togethers “to gossip, to remember, and to laugh.” They talk about acting, of course, but also about navigating show business and what they think of critics, and about husbands (everyone agrees that Dame Joan’s husband, Lord Oliver, was the most difficult), beauty, fear, competition, awards (we see each of them being Dame-d, by either Prince Charles or Queen Elizabeth II), Americans, Shakespeare, and aging, with the advice each of them would give their younger selves, though Dame Maggie (I would not dream of any other form of address, given the disdain they show for American clumsiness with titles) admits that her younger self would never have listened. And they do it all with such impeccable diction and classically trained technique in the exquisite timing of le mot plus juste.

In the early days, “you went to reps and you stayed in digs and things,” Dame Judi remembers. And if the landlady was unkind, “you nailed a kipper under the table.” Dame Joan Plowright talks about joining her first company, where another actor warned, “She can’t play queens, you know,” and the director replied, “I should think the last thing we want in a theater for contemporary writers is girls born to play queens.”

The Dames began acting as the “Kitchen Sink” era of postwar Britain was evolving into the swinging 60’s. There are some knowing looks and nostalgic smiles as they recall that era. There is a marvelous camaraderie and warm memories of working together that is unmarred by a continuing competition. Everyone remembers that Judi Dench was the first to be Dame-d. (When Dame Maggie got the word of her award, Dame Judi assured her that “It won’t change anything; you can still swear.) And the octogenarian Dame Maggie makes the kind of pointed comment that only the portrayer of the Dowager Duchess can master; her agent assures her that “We’ll look around for a nice little cameo that Judi does not have her paws on.”

Dame Eileen is less well known in the US, and I hope very much that this film and the marvelous archival clips will inspire American audiences to learn more about her. All of the Dames are exceptionally well represented with a remarkable range of clips, showing once again that one of the key differences between US and British actors is the British actors’ willingness to weigh in with equal enthusiasm to everything from classic dramas to avant garde to sitcoms. The glimpses of their work also provide a subtle but clear contrast between their delicious inability to take themselves seriously in real life and their obvious, visceral commitment to their performances, their characters, and the scripts and screenplays they bring to life.

None of them was willing to play Cleopatra (Shakespeare’s version), though all were asked repeatedly. Dame Judi challenged the director Peter Hall: “Do you really want a menopausal dwarf?” (But she did it.) Dame Maggie did it, but in Canada. But Cleopatra is a rare role that is the center of the play. Dame Joan describes “that rare exhilaration when you know you’re in charge.”

They talk about aging, and about fear, not of illness or death but, endearingly, enduringly, about the very thing they have devoted their lives to, acting. “Are first days still scary?” Michel asks, off camera. “All days,” Dame Maggie says immediately. But it is their relish for exactly that challenge that keeps them so vibrant. “Fear is petrol,” says Dame Judi. “It generates such an energy. If you can somehow handle it, it can be a help.”

As marvelous as they are playing other people, it is pure delight to see them as themselves.

Parents should know that the ladies use some frank and salty language and there are some sexual references.

Family discussion: What advice would you give to your younger self? Why didn’t they want to play Cleopatra?

If you like this, try: the films starring the Dames

Dame Judi Dench and Shakespeare: Exits and Entrances

Posted on April 3, 2016 at 8:00 am

Is there a better combination than Dame Judi Dench and William Shakespeare? In honor of the 400th anniversary of the death of the greatest writer in the history of the English language, one of the premiere actresses of our time is releasing a new CD called Exits & Entrances: Celebration of Shakespeare, featuring recitations of his work with specially scored original light classical music accompanying nine of the twenty four tracks on the album, written by British composer Jackie Williams.

Dame Judi performs some of her favorite selections from the Bard’s works, including the classic “When in Disgrace With Fortune and Men’s Eyes” and “Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds.” She is joined by David Suchet (best known in the US as Hercule Poirot), and Dench’s late brother Jeffery, a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, well-known for his powerfully-intoned Shakespeare roles, who adds a contrastingly robust tone, and Oliver Dench, grandson of Jeffery, who recently did a one-man “Hamlet.” On the 24 tracks, the stars each perform well-known snippets from Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry V, The Winter’s Tale, Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice, Richard III, and As You Like It, as well as sonnet selections.

Interview: The Real Philomena Lee

Posted on February 7, 2014 at 3:47 pm

Philomena Lee is a retired psychiatric nurse who lived quietly with her family in England until a search for the son taken away from her and adopted by Americans led to a book by journalist Martin Sixsmith (Philomena: A Mother, Her Son, and a Fifty-Year Search) and a movie starring Judi Dench and co-screenwriter Steve Coogan. Since the movie came out, Lee has devoted herself to helping change the laws in the UK so adoptees and their birth mothers can find each other if they want to. When she came to Washington, D.C. with her daughter, I spoke to them about this project and why it was important to her to forgive the nuns who abused her.

Have any of the other women whose babies were taken away found their children?

I wouldn’t know, we honestly wouldn’t know because when I was in the home, you had to lose your identity, you had to forget your own name. I wasn’t Philomena Lee anymore. We were all given what they called a house name and my name was Marsella. So I didn’t even knew then they name of many of them, they were just called by, it could be , Mary , Kate, Annie or something. So I was just known as Marsella and they would have known me as Marsella. They wouldn’t have known me as my home name which is Philomena Lee.

Have you heard from many of the adoptees and mothers who gave up their children for adoption?

People’s enquiry is usually “Did you remember my mother? Did you know my mother?” And of course I didn’t know any of them at all really. And this is why we started the project last week in Ireland, The Adoption Alliance, so that the mums that are trying to find their babies will be given the right do so. At the moment in Ireland, it’s not law , they don’t have to be told anything. So the women are trying to get the right to be able to find out who their mom was, who their dad was.

Philomena’s daughter added: Yes, we’ve heard from hundreds of people, people have come up to us in the cinemas and things like those, have come us to us physically, we’ve had lots and lots of contact, people sending us messages, people have left message on the graves, all sorts of things which is the reason we started The Philomena Project really and the awareness that people who don’t have an automatic right to information and trying to get that changed if we can. It’s to have a place for them to go or a website for them to go so they know how to go about starting that if they want to because many of them won’t know where to look in the first place. And for that reason we would like to change the legislation and that is ultimately what we would like as a result of this.

One of the most powerful moments in the film is when you say to the nun who not only abused you and took your son but thwarted your efforts to find him and his efforts to find you. Why do you think forgiveness is so important?

I was very unforgiving in the very early stages after I eventually left after the adoption, I eventually worked in a boys school in Liverpool from Ireland to England and I was so sad and so hurt and so I was in an unforgiving frame of mind at the time. But then after a couple of years I left Liverpool and went down south to a place in London. I worked in a psychiatric hospital for 30 years and over the years I’ve been working in the psychiatric hospital I can assure you, you can see life as life is more often than not. So I gradually and gradually saw so much sorrow and hurt that was caused through anger. So I was able to release my anger gradually and start forgiving again so that’s how it is.

And I do forgive because I’ve lived to sixty one last year and so it’s a long time to live. My son grew up in a lovely home, had an education ended up happy so I’m happy about that and I’m able to put some closure on this because at last I found him. For my whole life all I ever wanted to do was to find him.

Of course he was looking for me, as well. He went over three times to the home where he was born and they wouldn’t give him any information. They said no one knew of me and I was looking for him and so my brother lived at the same home we lived since I was eight years old. He was only an hour away and they wouldn’t give him the address. When I moved to England several times I sent my new addresses but I never got any answer back so they never took it. They had told him that I abandoned him at two weeks old. But I was in the home for three and a half years and I wrote him and developed a very close bond with him.

You know at three he was a lovely, friendly, intelligent boy and I certainly believe because he looked for me so much straight on he did remember me. I wondered all the time and prayed that I would find him and eventually Martin Sixsmith, who was the correspondent in Washington managed to get all the information. Martin called all of his friends and his partner and his partner gave us so much information and they did have a good amount of time together; 15 years together and they were very happy together and he loved him very much and that put my heart at ease when I knew that he tried to find be because I know that he remembered me.

I always thought it was good to have a close bond. He was really such a lovely little boy; such a loving little boy you know. As they say, at least I found him and he will always be within my own heart. It was very good to know that he had a good life and he was a happy man and he had happy friends and I am happy about that because I knew he was happy, I found out he was happy. He did request when he knew he was dying that one day if anything happens “please bring my ashes back and have me buried where I was born.” And now I can visit his grave.

When I first saw the film, I didn’t know what to think but who would ask for more?

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