They go deep very quickly and effortlessly. РІР‚СљWith both of those people there is what you might call a touch of the poet. And while the love is already being spread around to BranaghРІР‚в„ўs cast, the film, perhaps, glows brightest when Dench and Hinds are on screen.

In September, it won the audience award at the Toronto International Film Festival. РІР‚СљBelfast,РІР‚Сњ which Focus Features released in theaters Friday, has already emerged as a crowd-pleasing Academy Awards front-runner. РІР‚СљIf you look back and see where it all started, they came from these two extraordinary and honest characters in Pop and Granny.РІР‚Сњ РІР‚СљIf the body of the story is the parents and the kid, they came from somewhere,РІР‚Сњ says Hinds. In scenes warm with reflection, wisdom and humor, Dench and CiarР“РЋn Hinds play Granny and Pop, the heartbeat of РІР‚СљBelfast.РІР‚Сњ The semi-autobiographical РІР‚СљBelfastРІР‚Сњ is set in a very specific time and place, but itРІР‚в„ўs rich in the universal struggles and bonds of family.Р”Р„nd while РІР‚СљBelfastРІР‚Сњ is grounded first and foremost in CaitrР“Вona BalfeРІР‚в„ўs mother, Jamie DornanРІР‚в„ўs father and their youngest son, Buddy (Jude Hill), the filmРІР‚в„ўs most soulful evocations of family come from the grandparents. In BranaghРІР‚в„ўs film, a black-and-white, heartfelt memory piece told largely from the perspective of the filmmaker as a boy, the tension outside on the streets weighs on a young family.

The film, which Branagh wrote and directed, is set in the North Ireland capital in 1969, during the sectarian strife of the Troubles. In РІР‚СљBelfast,РІР‚Сњ Branagh reconstructs a poignant and pivotal moment from his childhood. РІР‚СљHe said, РІР‚ВWill you play my grandmother?РІР‚в„ўРІР‚Сњ Dench recalls. NEW YORK (AP) - Kenneth Branagh put it directly to Judi Dench.

Toronto rapt