It’s still early and many of the movies on the list haven’t been released to the public yet, but Variety‘s list of Best Picture 2022 predictions is topped by Belfast. The black-and-white film is a “story of love, laughter, and loss in one boy’s childhood, amid the music and social tumult of the late 1960s,” according to the official plot summary. It sounds like the most Best Picture-y movie ever — but it also looks very good. Both things can be true, as another black-and-white historical drama proved nearly 30 (!) years ago.
Belfast is directed by Kenneth Branagh, who has called it “most personal film” yet (yes, even more than Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit). “The leaving of Belfast was definitely the most critical life event for me, because it was wrapped up in violence and disruption. It resulted in a profound change. Life was really never the same again for me. It affected many, many people in profound ways that reverberate to this day,” he told the BFI.
Belfast, which stars newcomer Jude Hill as Branagh’s nine-year-old surrogate, Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, and Colin Morgan, opens on November 12. Also, in case you were wondering, Variety‘s Best Picture predictions list also includes Jane Campion’s fantastic looking The Power of the Dog, King Richard with Will Smith as Venus and Serena Williams’ dad, Dune, and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s tick, tick… Boom!.