I’ve decided to dedicate a post to Sing Street since I’ve recommended the movie many times ever since I saw it, and for some reason I can’t get it out of my head.
I am sure you can think of many good movies about group bands. What is it about this one that makes it special? Well, in this case the movie is about how a school boy forms a band. It’s an unpretentious plot beautifully developed. Set in the mid-80s, Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo), an Irish teenager, changes school from a fee-paying school to a free state-school as his parents’ income is running low. The kid struggles to fit in the school, meets Raphina (Lucy Boynton), a wonderful girl, and decides to form a band to impress her (and as a means to evade himself from his family conflicts at home). Since Raphina is a model, Conor invites her to perform in the music videos for his band.
The movie provides a very good picture on how a set of teenagers arrange themselves to form a band and start composing. The band focuses in two main aspects: their music and their dressing styles. The troubled older brother of Conor is the band’s musical guru and provides the influences the group develop in every hit. The band compose material inspired from the Cure to the Jam, Joe Jackson, Spandau Ballet and beyond. While the dress sense changes with the winds of the latest Top of the Pops.
Reminiscent of those ‘sweded’ movies from Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry, 2008), the greatness of the film comes in the music clips the band makes.
As you may have guessed by now, the movie has been directed by John Carney, who is the man behind Once and Begin Again. As always, his films permeate the wonders of the world of making music. Happy, sad, and with a great original soundtrack, Sing Street is a must.
Stereo Giraffe 