Belfast | 2021 | PG-13 | – 2.4.5

Why is “Belfast” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “some violence and strong language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a couple of kissing scenes, dancing scenes and flirting scenes between a young boy and girl, an attack on some people in a town with chains breaking glass, a car blowing up and flames bursting around doorways, a few threats of violence and a punch in the face with some blood shown, shoplifting, a man dies of a lung disease caused by coal mining, several arguments and at least 1 F-word and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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A young boy (Jude Hill) and his family navigate a tumultuous time in 1969’s Belfast, where the separation between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland created a volatile situation. Also with Lewis McAskie, Caitriona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds. Directed by Kenneth Branagh. [Running Time: 1:38]

Belfast SEX/NUDITY 2

 – A husband and his wife dance in a pub as he sings to her, lifts her up and spins her around and they kiss. A husband and his wife dance at a street party. A husband and his wife dance and laugh and when he hugs her she giggles and says, “Get off me,” jokingly.
► A boy gives a girl a bunch of flowers and she asks him to go to the moon with her. A man talks to his young grandson about a girl that the boy is in love with; the man says that women are mysterious and gives him some advice. A woman talks about getting sick every morning and it is implied that she is pregnant.
► A statue shows a nude woman with breasts and buttocks visible but without much detail. Graffiti on a wall depicts a man carrying a mermaid with a low-cut top that reveals cleavage. Women in a movie wear loincloth type outfits that reveal cleavage, bare abdomens, backs and legs to the thighs.

Belfast VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 – We hear a commotion in the distance and people yell, “Please, we’ve done nothing,” as other people wearing masks and carrying heavy chains walk around the corner; explosives are thrown and flames burst in the street and around doorways, a car’s gas tank is set on fire and the car explodes in the street throwing rubble and glass around, people swing chains into windows shattering them as people scramble to get their children inside and away from danger and the people with the weapons yell for Catholics to get out (we do not see injuries but there is a lot of yelling and disorder).
► A man drags his young son through a street and yells at him to tell him what he heard about another man; the man arrives at the second man’s house and punches him hard in the face (blood spurts and the man falls back). A man has a gun in his belt and threatens to shoot a boy and a woman if another man doesn’t either give him money or join his cause; armed police aim weapons at the man and the second man throws a brick at him, knocks the gun out of his hands and the officers arrest the gunman.
► Men carrying flaming torches patrol streets at night. A husband and his wife argue and she yells and throws dishes at him breaking them. A husband and his wife argue in several scenes about money, debt and owed back taxes. A husband and his wife argue over the telephone a couple of times and she hangs up on him. Armed soldiers frisk people roughly and question them as they enter a town. A teen boy talks to his father about making deliveries for a man and that he was attacked by a group of other teens (he was not harmed).
► A young boy and two teen girls enter a shop where they steal candy and run out chased by the proprietor; the man catches one teen girl and the young boy is questioned at home by police. A woman chases her young son up a flight of stairs to punish him after a police officer questions the boy about shoplifting and then leaves. A man throws a ball at a teen boy’s head where there is an apple and the ball knocks the apple off without injury or impact to the boy’s head. A woman chases her young son down the street to a shop where he stole something and she says that if he ever does that again, “I will kill you”; she then turns to a teen girl that convinced the boy to steal and says, “I will beat you black and blue.”
► Two men threaten another man about giving them either “cash or commitment” and they say they are “cleansing the streets.” A man says that they are in a civil war. A husband and his wife talk about leaving Belfast and they disagree. A minister yells from a pulpit about people in his congregation and that they are all going to die in agony and he talks about which way they will go — to the loving arms of their God or to burn in “postulating pain” for eternity. People talk about Catholics living in Protestant neighborhoods. We hear people saying that the police are not going to protect them from attacks. People refer to a curfew being enforced. A boy complains about having to go to church and says that Catholics just have to go to confession and they are forgiven, so why can’t he skip church and confess. Young people talk about people’s names identifying what religion they are and they become upset when their methods don’t match up and they worry that they will never be able to know who is what. A teen girl talks about someone getting a “dig in the gob” (presumably a punch in the face). A teacher reprimands her class and refers to Sisyphean struggles. A teen girl asks a young boy if he wants to join a gang and tells him that they are going to steal candy from a shop. A woman says that a place is where “Lucifer hangs his shillelagh.” A man tells his young grandson that he used to steal money from the rent collector and return it to his neighbors.
► A man lies dead in a coffin and we see people gathered at a funeral at graveside. A movie shows lava erupting on an island where dinosaurs run around and a woman is shown injured and holding her side. A movie shows a car driving over a cliff and falling toward the ocean as the occupants scream; the car sprouts wings and they fly through the air unharmed. A scene from “High Noon” shows a man in a town standing alone as men that want to kill him arrive and a song plays with lyrics, “Do not forsake me.” A man reaches for his gun in a movie. Children play in streets with balls and some with wooden swords and garbage can lids used as shields.
► A woman retches in a couple of scenes (we do not see goo). A woman jokes about needing to wear a nappy after eating Indian curry. A boy sits on a toilet (we see his bare feet). A man coughs deeply in several scenes and we hear that he was a coal miner.

Belfast LANGUAGE 5

 – At least 1 F-word, 1 scatological term, 3 anatomical terms, 8 mild obscenities, name-calling (wee fellas, eejits, Lone Ranger, stupid, nonsense, mad world, poor Catholics, pity, mental, Mr. Philosopher, kill crazy, terrible man, terrible woman, rigmarole, slow poke, coward, craven coward, lying bugger, jumped-up gangster), exclamations (bloody nonsense, bloody stupid, shut-up, cheery-o, heck), 11 religious exclamations (e.g. for God’s sake, Holy God, Christ, God understands, anti-Christ, too much God, God, oh God, in the name of God, if God had wanted me to see flying cars). | profanity glossary |

Belfast SUBSTANCE USE

 – Men drink beer in a betting hall, and people drink at a couple of parties including after a funeral.

Belfast DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Religion, family, faith, fear, small close-knit towns, shame, intimidation, civil war, fate, unemployment, 1969 Ireland.

Belfast MESSAGE

 – Be careful what you wish for.