Kenneth Branagh: "We live in an increasingly tribal world in which insult has replaced communication"

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Kenneth Branagh (Belfast, 1960)

has made -like Cuarón, Sorrentino, Almodóvar or Tarantino before him- a film about memory.

Yours.

tells him and tells us, through the eyes of the kid that he was, the story of an entire city.

And, hurrying, he also tells us about it;

he details how memory (his, mine, ours) suddenly acquires the roughness and weight of time.

And he does it without drama, happy with the intimate experience of eyes that open to life in the midst of the greatest of catastrophes.

We are talking about a 30-year conflict, we are talking about

, we are talking about the lead of the 70s, 80s and 90s, we are talking about parents who dance, grandparents who speak slowly and a kid who falls in love.

Enter her for the Oscars.

A film that is named after a city can be turned into a flag or just the opposite... It is being a success in Belfast and what may seem normal to you is not to me. It is a black and white film whose argument is the problems of the people. There are no superheroes. Let's say that it is a complicated matter to sell here and in Spain. Therefore, your success in my land means a lot to me.

it is his life, but, as he has confessed, not all of it. How to distinguish truth from lies? The essential is truth. The arrival of the mob in our street on a summer day in 1969 is the decisive event. And everything is organized on it. It was 20 seconds that changed my life; 20 seconds that probably ended my childhood. At that moment I crossed the border of innocence. The need to survive made me become a kind of spy in my own life. Be aware of everything. And then there's that other moment where a supermarket is looted and the nine-year-old steals a washing powder to my mother's embarrassment... The film is all about a celebration of life in the midst of horror, isn't it? Are you afraid of being accused of being frivolous? There has been some hysterical reaction.But I sincerely believe that the tension produced by danger is what gives true value to laughter, to the dance of a song... The awareness of death gives meaning to humor. The fear that was lived in the street was real and, in fact, I decided to leave many things out of respect for that fear. He insists on giving a political message from hope. In a moment of tension and constant confrontation, this approach is almost a provocation... What has moved me the most has been the reception of the film with pride in Northern Ireland. Wounds are acknowledged, but heartbreak or hate is accepted with compassion. There is no reason to be optimistic about what happens in Ireland in the future, but somehow there is reason for hope. People are determined to be patient and trust that healing will come.Van Morrison's song that closes Belfast talks about that. Why do you think optimism has such a bad press? Cynicism, on the other hand, is in good health. Honestly, I think that an emotional, sentimental -and, therefore, positive and optimistic- response to what is lost is important. That is the only way to acknowledge loss, the loss of loved ones, the loss of a street, a nation or, in my absurd personal case, the loss of the native accent. There is no choice but to learn to live with all that and move on. And do you know why? For the simple reason that there is no other option. My life has passed during the 30 years of the entire conflict, duringtherefore, positive and optimistic - to what is lost is important. That is the only way to acknowledge loss, the loss of loved ones, the loss of a street, a nation or, in my absurd personal case, the loss of the native accent. There is no choice but to learn to live with all that and move on. And do you know why? For the simple reason that there is no other option. My life has passed during the 30 years of the entire conflict, duringtherefore, positive and optimistic - to what is lost is important. That is the only way to acknowledge loss, the loss of loved ones, the loss of a street, a nation or, in my absurd personal case, the loss of the native accent. There is no choice but to learn to live with all that and move on. And do you know why? For the simple reason that there is no other option. My life has passed during the 30 years of the entire conflict, duringMy life has passed during the 30 years of the entire conflict, duringMy life has passed during the 30 years of the entire conflict, during

.

3,700 people have died.

On the day the film opens, three blocks from where he lived, a ten-year-old Catholic boy died.

When we finally reach an unstable period of peace, we see how Brexit suddenly threatens everything.

In Spain they have experienced something similar because of separatism... There is always reason for the affront, but we must stop this spiral that leads to nothing...

Kenneth Branagh with actor Jude Hill at a time during the filming of 'Belfast'. Rob YoungsonAP

Come on At the end of Cinderella I did for Disney, the evil stepmother confronts her after she has put on the slipper.

And Cinderella says, "I forgive you."

When we pretested the film, the audience was split 50/50 between those who agreed and those who wanted revenge.

The reason is with those who forgive.

In any case, it may not be necessary to reach such high-sounding words as forgiveness.

Perhaps it is simply enough that there is understanding, communication, putting oneself in the other's place... That is the path and the challenge.

We live in an increasingly tribal world in which insult has replaced communication. You mentioned Brexit before and your film comes out when Brexit calls everything into question and perhaps it is even necessary to imagine another future for Ireland. things like you do now.

We have to stop talking about the future like that in general and concentrate on the small immediate steps to take that improve people's lives.

The small step to take is what happens with the borders.

Personally, I am in favor of open borders.

I don't want to shut things down anymore.

I would prefer to have an open relationship with Europe.

Talking about the future is talking about emotions, about feelings.

And that is dangerous.

I think it is a Buddhist teaching that says that the inner light of each one only teaches you the next step.

If you go in the right direction at some point your destination will appear.

That is to say, I am not able to imagine the destiny of Ireland, I only know that we must prevent fanaticism from deciding anything. For decades, the version that has come down to us of what happened in Ireland has been the Catholic one.

Why? I think that in the Protestant personality there is a kind of resistance to creativity in general and to art as a way of solving problems in particular.

It is considered that the changes have to take place with the facts, with politics, with business... The Protestant mentality mistrusts the imagination.

But to be honest, I didn't write this as an aborted political film or a film bent on telling the Protestant point of view.

I simply wanted to narrate the unique experience of a child, a family, a street... How has your family reacted to the film? My parents have already died.

My brother and sister saw it and got excited.

My sister in particular was very surprised as she thought I was a very reserved type.

On the other hand,

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