Song of the Sea (2014)

the audience applauded

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Did you people see the same film I saw?

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Ben and his younger sister Saoirse live with their father Conor in an isolated lighthouse. Their mother died six years ago while giving birth to Saoirse. Unable to talk, Saoirse is starting to show special powers and sea creatures seem to respect her, indicating that she is no normal little girl.A sweet modern-day fairy tale. A linear adventure story that manages to stay reasonably focused and doesn't get too fantastical while introducing us to some intriguing characters. Mostly ideal for kids though adults won't mind it either. Quite difficult to dislike.Not very profound though - it is just a linear fantasy story, after all. So not brilliant, but still enjoyable.

A young Irish lad finds out that his younger sister is a mythical half-human creature called a 'selkie' - a discovery that eventuates in adventures for them both in this pleasant animated feature film. The mythologies surrounding selkies are a little on the complex side, however, the film stands up well as a tale of a boy coming to understand and truly appreciate his sister for all her special and unique qualities, even if some of the finer points of the narrative are hard to nut out. His sister is simply adorable and as she hardly utters a word throughout, this is something that is best attributed to the animation itself and the way the character is written: how much she dotes on her brother despite her affections not being returned, etc. Though a drama first and foremost, the film has several effective comical moments. Not all of the humour works, but there is a lot of amusement to be had in the seal-like creatures trying to track the sister down while donning random disguises and hiding in garbage bins. The music is also as good as one would expect for a film with 'Song' in its title.

I may have seen images of this Welsh cartoon at the time of its release, I knew it was likely to be something magical, it being well rated and recognised during awards season meant I had to watch it. Basically lighthouse keeper Conor (Brendan Gleeson) lives on an island with his son Ben (David Rawle), his wife Bronach (Lisa Hannigan) and sheepdog Cú, but things change when Bronach disappears, presumably dying after childbirth, leaving behind daughter Saoirse, and a seashell horn. Six years later, Conor is a broken man, and Ben is antagonistic towards his younger sister, he blames her for their mother leaving, she has not learned to speak, and Granny (Fionnula Flanagan), the grandmother, is visiting for Saoirse's birthday. At night, Saoirse plays the seashell horn, leading her to a white sealskin coat in Conor's closet, she wears the coat and walks towards the sea, there is a group of seals, revealing she is a selkie, a mythological creature who lives as a seal. She is found swimming by Granny, she insists the children are not being cared for properly and should be taken to the city, Ben protests, but Conor reluctantly agrees, and locks the coat in a chest, throwing it into the ocean. Saoirse plays the shell horn again on Halloween night, she and Ben attempt to run home, but the fairies who were alerted want to take Saoirse with them to Tír na nÓg ("Land of the Young"), but the fairies are turned to stone when attacked by the owls of Macha (Fionnula Flanagan), the sea deity. They catch up to Cú who followed them, but Saoirse is becoming ill, she falls into a sacred well, Ben follows and meets the Great Seanachaí (the storyteller/historian) (Jon Kenny), they learns that she was kidnapped by Macha, and she is mute because she needs to coat, or she will die. Ben learns that Bronach was a selkie herself, and remorsefully watched as she returned to the sea, he is given a hair that will lead them to Macha, who claims that her son Mac Lir (Brendan Gleeson) suffered a broken heart. Ben is able to rescue Saoirse and makes Macha realise that stealing feelings does not help, she flies them back home, where Conor finds them and takes Saoirse to hospital, at the same time the grandmother is trying to find them. Ben dives into the ocean to recover the coat, with the help of seals and Conor he finds it, Saoirse is made fully healthy and sings the song of the sea, the fairies rise, and Mac Lir, his dogs and Macha emerge and they head for Tír na nÓg. Bronach appears and prepares to depart with Saoirse, but she is half-human, so she departs instead with the coat, the fairies also say a tearful farewell, Ben and his family finally return home to their island, and Granny arrives, she decides the children can stay with their father, Ben and Soairse reconcile and become friends. Also starring Lucy O'Connell as Saoirse, Pat Shortt as Lug, Colm Ó'Snodaigh as Mossy and Liam Hourican as Spud / Bus Driver. Irish stars Gleeson and Flanagan do their voicing well, the story is based on a famous folklore tale, it was a little confusing at times, but generally it is a sweet tale of a boy learning to become a better brother to his fantastical sister, the animation is beautiful and the music score is haunting, it works well both as a fun adventure and a moving, heartbreaking exploration, a worthwhile animated animated fantasy drama. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year. Good!

The animation does not have the "benefit" of the Hollywood rendering processes and therefore appears a little less sophisticated than the Hollywood blockbusters at first glance. However, the visual impact of the images would be lost if this was done. The real impact of this story is towards the end when the little girl finds her song and the world changes in images that are almost impossible to describe. In many ways this film defies any attempt to categorize it. Both children and seniors and all ages in between can find something to enjoy. I saw it twice a few weeks apart and it was better the second time as I saw new images and events I missed the first time. Highly recommended - a tale to cherish. The ancient myths about the selkie are not generally known worldwide, so it would help if a viewer googled "selkie" before watching the film. I did that after watching the movie the first time, and it changed my understanding the second time.