A love letter to the city in which he was born, sure, but also an affection-infused portrait of an imperfect family, Belfast is Kenneth Branagh's finest hour as a director, after 17 previous stints calling the shots. Drawing on his own working-class Northern Irish upbringing, the fact of which will surprise some, he assumes the perspective of a nine-year-old lad for an accessible and personal look at The Troubles.

Cheeky-faced newcomer Jude Hill gives a wonderful performance as Buddy, a kid growing up in a tumultuous time. In a story filmed in gloriously nostalgic black and white and set amongst the Belfast terraces of 1969, we see playfulness and conviviality give way to a masked mob lobbing petrol bombs and wielding bats and chains, as they try to drive the remaining Catholic families from an otherwise Protestant street.

Buddy's stylish and fiercely protective ma (passionate work from Outlander's Caitríona Balfe) has been raising him and his older brother Will (Lewis McAskie), whilst his slightly dodgy but basically decent joiner father (Jamie Dornan) works away in England. However, a civil war on the family's doorstep threatens to drive them from their city, which is also home to their beloved grandparents (super performances from Ciarán Hinds and Judi Dench, though the latter does struggle with the accent a tad).

Written by Branagh in 2020 in the eight weeks following the first Covid-19 lockdown, he gives us a child's-eye-view of events, reframing things through a prism of movies and mischief (a stand-off plays out like High Noon, stealing sweets from a newsagent becomes a daring heist). There's a rose-tinted take on Buddy's parents' troubled marriage, including a stunning musical sequence set to 'Everlasting Love'. Cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos (who has shot seven of Branagh's last eight films) does an astounding job here. Given the gorgeousness, it's a shame that the first moments are full colour images of a modern Belfast; the contrast makes sense, but it means the film briefly resembles a tourist board advert before it becomes something much classier.

Scenes take the form of snatches of memories and overheard conversations, and there's an economy and buoyancy to it all. And with Van Morrison providing the soundtrack (eight songs from his impressive repertoire of hits and one written especially), further uplift can be found in the soulful, joyous sounds of this Belfast native. A shamelessly crowd-pleasing choice no doubt, but one that, like so much of the film, comes off beautifully.

Belfast is in cinemas from Friday 21 January.