The 10th Belfast Film Festival got off to a gala start last night with the Irish premiere of the new Colin Farrell movie.

But despite the upbeat occasion and an introduction by Belfast-born co-star Ian McElhinney, Triage is a film that is more endured than enjoyed.

Based on the novel of the same name by American veteran war correspondent Scott Anderson, Triage focuses on the psychological effects of war on photojournalist Mark Walsh (Farrell).

Mark — ambitious, fearless, feckless — is assigned to Kurdistan during the Anfal genocide, along with fellow snapper David (Jamie Sives). Devastating events overtake them, and Mark returns home to Dublin with mysterious injuries. The rest of the movie concerns the efforts of Mark’s wife Elena, played by Spanish beauty Paz Vega, to find out what happened to her husband, and where David is.

The presence of Farrell will draw in viewers, but this is difficult subject matter, and the sombre tone is a long way from In Bruges. Farrell – who lost nearly three stone for the role – turns in an engaging and committed performance as the emotionally crippled Walsh. There’s even a less than erotic full frontal male nude scene.

Triage intensifies in its second half, with the arrival of Sir Christopher Lee. The 87-year-old Hammer horror legend plays straight-talking Spanish psychiatrist Joaquín Morales, who worked under Franco’s fascist regime. The ex-Count Dracula brings an air of menace and dispatches portentous speeches like his long career depends on it. Lee is the best thing about the film, and should receive an Oscar to go with his knighthood.

Director and screenwriter Danis Tanovic, best known for the award-winning 2001 Bosnian movie No Man’s Land, makes the point that man will always fight man.

Though set in 1988, the events could have taken place at any point in the past 40 years. “God knows there’ll always be another war,” shrugs Walsh after missing out on an assignment in Burma.

Triage is an old-fashioned kind of film —good characters, a compelling story, striking visuals and a pay-off that stays with you long after you leave the cinema.

ANDREW JOHNSTON

See www.belfastfilmfestival.org. Tickets are available by phoning Belfast Welcome Centre on 028 9024 6609 or in person at 47 Donegall Place, Belfast

5 festival events to delight the film buffs

• American: The Bill Hicks Story — rare and previously unseen performance footage and the testimonies from the friends and family of the late stand-up comedian create a deeply perceptive film
• Tetro — the latest offering from iconic Italian-American director Francis Ford Coppola, in his first screenplay since his 1974’s The Conversation
• The Eclipse — the IFTA-winning supernatural drama stars Belfast actor Ciaran Hinds in a leading role as a widower struggling to come to terms with his wife’s death
• Lagan Boat Screenings — enjoy contemporary water-borne horror classics, Deep Rising and Lake Placid, on a boat on the River Lagan
• The A-Z of Belfast Cinemas — film pundit Brian Henry Martin explores the history of Belfast’s cinemas in this special live event