Review of Sing Street (2016) by Manolo P — 14 Apr 2017

An excellent way to relive an era is to bring it back. "Sing Street", as a step from childhood to adolescence, along with the new signs of maturity that it brings, consisting on trying new things, to challenge oneself and to be perseverant to reach goals, positions everything in an era of transitions like were the dreamers during the '80s, awakening our emotions as they gladly do and look for what we really crave.

This successful John Carney's project is set in Northern Ireland, where Connor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo), the third child of a couple which has been agitated by their emotional problems and lashed by the hard crisis of the eighties in that country, is sent to a Christian school to save the family economy. The boy must face change, living with students with more difficult socio-economic conditions and an apparently strict but condescending and incapacitated education. After meeting a girl named Raphina (Lucy Boynton) who daily walks out of his school, Connor's isolated attitude shifts, pointing to the dream of creating his own band, challenging the school system, finding his skills, and facing new feelings.

Cosmo, the name with which Raphina would baptize him as his stage name, now ventures into trying to demonstrate what he thinks through music, giving signs of how he feels about the girl, what he expects of himself, and to express everything that happens around him. In fact, from the first scene of the film he is already composing, he does it with pain and it is about the fights he hears at home. Knowing love is what motivates the protagonist to move forward. He is timid, constant, noble, and fearless. He can also be seen with a very nerdy attitude, and he is, but as part of his quest for identity is how we can see through him, feeling great empathy, and smiling inevitably to the so funny scenes that come frequently.

Brendan, the brother of Cosmo (Jack Reynor) plays a very important role throughout history. He loves him and his relationship between siblings is very affectionate and close. He is key as support and guide in the construction of Cosmo as an artist, as a lover and as a person.

Now, entering the subject of music, which supports this story, we have a good achievement by Carney not only by bringing back great themes and British successes of the eighties, but also really manages to create all this atmosphere with his good use of props, camera effects and even instruments.

The tacky flavor air with which the film moves does not stagnate unlike many other films of the same type and the weakened optimism that is employed is offset by a great soundtrack, such as the '80s Brit band Danny Wilson ("Mary's Prayer"), the themes of The Cure and Duran Duran.

Carney's intention fulfills the commitment to his audience. The subjects of family, friendship, the mission of always trying and not to surrender are approached with very good intentions resulting in a satisfactory work of filmmaking, agile and alive from beginning to end. Youth is to face problems, to do without wasting time in regrets, it is enjoying. The fantastic closing of the movie leaves a pleasant thought of what could happen next, implying that life is breathing, that life is full of melodies, and that to reach plenitude there must be no fear about the future. 83/100.