Sing Street
A musical set in a 1980s Dublin inner city secondary school where Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) must come to terms with moving from a posh fee-paying institution to one with less lofty ideals. To do this, and get the girl, Ann (Kelly Thornton), he starts a band.
Most of the humour in the film comes from the band’s changing tastes as they go from pop to more cerebral efforts, citing the 80s influences along the way. A nice touch is how the actors pace the development of their own singing voices, it is noticeable how better they are at the end of the film than at the beginning.
The film is more than a simple comedy though. There’s the family that is slowly dissolving, the hints of physical and sexual abuse, the mother with hopes and dreams that the age wouldn’t allow, and the introduction of diversity into the country. But these elements never impose themselves on the film, they are all subtlety dealt with, a subtlety that is refreshing.
If you know your Highschool films then you’ll recognise some of the tropes that director John Carney plays around with, even down to the Highschool dance. As the film progresses this allusion to the Hollywood fantasy slowly seeps into the fabric of the film until, at the end, we get a film that embraces Hollywood and the French New Wave in one glorious shot.
My students will be studying this film.
E.T.
Spielberg’s 1982 film is a classic in every sense of the word. Not only in its ‘much loved’ status but also within the canon of great films.
At the core of the film is a boy, Elliott (Henry Thomas) who is struggling on a number of fronts. He must come to terms with the fact that his father has left the family home, he must come to terms with being an outsider and he must also say goodbye to his childhood as he enters adolescence. He must mature.
Enter ET. Or should we talk about ET as the main character and say, ‘enter Elliott’? ET also seems to be an outsider, although his troubles are self-inflicted.
I spoke about ET a few months ago so I don’t want to go over it again here, suffice it to say that this is the perfect film for anyone to teach, study, or enjoy. Every shot, colour, sound, piece of music is there with purpose and imagination. The script is tight and full of small details that reward careful scrutiny.
Moonrise Kingdom
Wes Anderson’s 2012 film is a simple story about two young people in love running away to be together. Parents, Scout Troups, The Police and Social Services must track them down.
Set in 1965 the film is full of Anderson’s quirks; no character is left without an oddity to define them, and, of course, there is Anderson’s symmetrical cinematic style.
Issues are raised but no answers given. Everything is questioned, leaving the audience alone to come up with possible solutions.
A nice antidote, or companion piece, to Romeo and Juliet in both narrative and style.
Spirited Away
Another film that I have taught in class. Although some may balk at the idea of using an animated film in a class of thirteen to fifteen-year olds, this is no simple animation.
Hayao Miyazaki’s film is about Chihiro (Rumi Hiragi), a little girl who must save her parents, who have been turned into pigs for being too greedy. In the process of doing this she must enter a fantasy world set in a bath house.
Miyazaki gets distracted by his characters notably he gets distracted by No-Face, a character who, literally, only had a walk on part until he was plucked from obscurity to be given a starring role.
This isn't the only diversion in the classic "plot" structure of a heroic tale, the whole impetus is moved when new characters are introduced at random and a story line is wrapped up before it even begins. This only adds to the glory of the film.
As with all Ghibli films it is first and foremost beautiful to look at, to which you can add a telling sound scape and emotive soundtrack. The film is poetic at every level, sound, editing, imagery, with an array of Gods/spirits, turnipmen, giant babies, multiple armed workmen, giant blobs of filth and a blue Dragon.
Family, love, the importance of work and acceptance of difference are all present. Typical of a film with its target audience it is mostly a coming of age film, about leaving things behind, about embracing change. In the end though, it's one of those films where you will see something new in it whenever you watch it.
COLUMN
CinÉireann / June 2018 17