Go watch it
Movie: Sing Street (2016)
As an Indian audience when you watch this particular movie you will understand that movies ought to have more character than just mass appeal. We need movies that inspire and Sing Street does exactly that. There is more to music than just blaring drums and bass and senseless lyrics. Also, you will want you to ask if we are watching the right kind of Hollywood movies. This one for me hits above any other movie that released in 2016. Makes me wonder how it missed an Oscar. But not going by any award or poll, Sing Street is not an everybody movie. Itâs like dark chocolate; only for refine taste buds. Given the fact that we are comfortable being served cheap entertainment, this movie is a pleasing punch.
Be he the Conor getting music lessons from his brother Brendan or Raphinaâs Cosmo, you get to see how exactly a teenager in 1985 felt and thought. He voices disappointment. âThis could scar me. Long-term!â he tells his mom Penny when she tells him about his school transfer, on account of the recession in Dublin and the familyâs need to save money. At the Christian Brothers school, Synge Street, he is uncomfortable but manages to stay afloat.
At first Brendan â Conorâs elder brother â appears blunt and a bitter-sweet. His character makes a lot of sense as the movie advances. His character showcases the pain of living with a lost a chance of living oneâs dreams. As powerful as Conorâs character sans courage Brendan is the forced ordinary man of the story. For Conor to be the way he is, we understand through various scenes that Brendan had to give up on a lot of things. But he believes in being happy and is always trying to make his little brother better â âYou have to learn how to NOT play. Thatâs rock n roll. And that takes practice.â Brendan is the only person Conor seems to agree with. The love underlining these two characters is the power of the movie. Â
Conor is audacious and has absolutely no worry for opinions. For instance, when his new schoolmate Darren tells him that Raphina â the endearingly innocent girl who claims to be a model â standing right opposite the school is ânot interested in any of the boys in the school.â Conor asks Darren and, in a way, trying to answers his own mind asks âOh yeah? Whyâs she standing there then?â Spontaneous and timely thinking not just gets him the girl but also his dream. Raphina is the reason why Conor starts a band. But it goes on to allay his insecurities and tough break.
The Band, a bunch of spontaneous members is not too much and not too less either⊠canât even call it perfect because these kids with all that they have come up with amazing music. Conorâs excitement is synonymous that of Eamon, the guitarist of the band who always takes one up whenever Conor asks him âWant to write a song?â âŠeach song is a story in itself!
Raphina is painfully beautiful. She showcases a carefree spirit untouched by the bitterness of the world. âYour problem is that youâre not happy being sad. Thatâs what love is, Cosmo,â she says which highlights her predicament. She is subtle with her description of pain and does not want to land up being âjust like mum.â But sheâs a positive being, overcoming it all. Even when she is stranded by her so called boyfriend her honour doesnât allow her to admit it. Beautifully portrayed is her mess.
Conorâs honesty makes Brother Baxterâs authoritarianism seem helpless. You feel a thud in your heart when brother Baxter washes the make -up off Conorâs face. But Conor! No care for rules he continues to wear his brown shoes â The song speaks for itself that when you reason even anger could be constructively used to create art. Be it forgiving Barry, the bully in public, to reducing Father Baxter to nothing in his song Conor displays grit and the courage to follow his dreams. The songs are warm and will keep you humming them for long. Be it âDrive it like you stole itâ or âFind you,â you will have so much to associate with it. Each character has strong distinctive personalities and their coming together blends in like a symphony.
So doped by his dream to make it large is our protagonist that he decides to take a leap of faith and chooses to take Raphina with him. Brendan is a clear winner in this scene and you will understand why only when you watch the movie! The closing scene has my heart. There is strength in letting go and moving on. There is strength is seeing someone else win and being able to do what you failed⊠there is strength in seeing them live your dream. There is love and there is pain and then there is Freedom, the most beautiful feeling of it all. And as Raphina puts it âYou canât do things by half, Cosmo.â
The music is simple and sensible. Be it The Riddle of the Model, Up, Finding You or Brown Shoes each song is well worded and refine. Music is determined to take you back to the 80âs and so are the costumes and make-up.
 P.S. This one will leave a song inside your heart and it will never fade










