John Carney
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But their music is catchy, and Carney has a lot of fun with the teens' homemade music videos, including an elaborate "Back to the Future"-inspired number.
Meanwhile he and his buddies will create a succession of amusingly period-appropriate tunes (actually written by Carney and Gary Clark) that culminate at a school dance which Conor imagines as “Back to the Future”-style shindig where his dreams come true.
That last number is where the movie soars highest, because it becomes the music video that Conor imagines for the song, a Back to the Future-inspired 1950s sock hop with Sing Street in burgundy tuxedos on the stage and choreographed dancers on the floor of their gym.
Whenever Carney’s shooting all-instrument performances or closed-door songwriting sessions, his film comes alive; there’s maybe no filmmaker working today better at capturing the joy of a rehearsal space, to say nothing of the wish-fulfillment swell he brings to a late, Back To The Future-inspired fantasy sequence.
They peak with a marvelous fantasy interlude in which a dismal rehearsal blossoms in Conor's mind into a Back to the Future-inspired 1950s American prom scene.
Con claras referencias a “Almost Famous”, “Say Anything”, y a las mencionadas “Once” y “Begin Again” (incluso a “Back to the Future”), “Sing Street” nos demuestra por qué la música es perfecta para expresar frustraciones y esperanzas.
Lukas Moodysson’s euphoric 2013 We Are the Best! was more honest in this regard, showing youthful music-making as the phase it so often is.
But it just as closely resembles Lukas Moodysson’s winning 2013 Swedish drama We Are the Best!, about a trio of 13-year-old Stockholm girls who become a punk group largely to irritate some older boys, and then find that the genre’s built-in explosive rebellion expresses something they were missing in their lives.
Putting together the band has the naive enthusiasm reminiscent of the punk-rock girls in the 2013 Swedish film "We Are the Best!".
The example of the anarchic British icons is also what motivated the dorky teenage heroines of “We Are the Best!” to take the stage; Carney’s pic merits comparison with Lukas Moodysson’s 2013 gem in many respects, though a battle-of-the-bands showdown between their respective collectives would certainly be the most welcome way to weigh the films up against each other.
In this regard, Sing Street reminded me of an Irish-flavored We Are the Best!, a 2014 Swedish film about 13-year-old girls forming a punk band — only with better music and more emotional pull.
It lacks the wallop of Stuart Murdoch's "God Help the Girl" and the reckless abandon of "We Are the Best!," but the palpable sincerity of Carney's personal vision allows his musical to spin a fresh melody from a mess of familiar beats.
Sing Street flaunts its influences rather proudly: There’s a touch of Rushmore, a sprinkle of Freaks and Geeks, a large dose of Almost Famous, and, inevitably, a bit of The Commitments, Alan Parker’s 1991 film about another budding Irish band.
The character of Brendan functions much as Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Lester Bangs did in Almost Famous; he provides mottos (“Rock and roll is a risk”), keen insights (which Conor then recites verbatim to others), and education (he hands him key albums and insists, “This is school.”).
Con claras referencias a “Almost Famous”, “Say Anything”, y a las mencionadas “Once” y “Begin Again” (incluso a “Back to the Future”), “Sing Street” nos demuestra por qué la música es perfecta para expresar frustraciones y esperanzas.
He's that Phillip Seymour Hoffman from Almost Famous kind of guy that just never left home.
A beautiful amalgam of “ Almost Famous ,” and “ Say Anything ,” with a hint of “ Once ,” John Carney is again at his top conveying a musical drama centered on more impoverished characters.
The film is imbued with music philosophy, like a Nick Hornby book or Cameron Crowe movie circa Almost Famous, or rather like a John Carney movie.
The film, which occasionally recalls Wes Anderson's Rushmore, is too effervescent to summon the sense of miraculous camaraderie contained in Carney's breakthrough feature, 2007's Once, but returning to Dublin after the underwhelming New York adventure of 2013's Begin Again has renewed him.
Sing Street flaunts its influences rather proudly: There’s a touch of Rushmore, a sprinkle of Freaks and Geeks, a large dose of Almost Famous, and, inevitably, a bit of The Commitments, Alan Parker’s 1991 film about another budding Irish band.
Ganatra and her cast manage to pull this off with The High Note, a movie that will remind you of others - 2013's Begin Again comes readily to mind – yet manages to find its own voice, thanks primarily to its sympathetic characters.
Their bond is reminiscent of the affection seen in “Begin Again,” one of 2013’s best films.
The mix of music and kitchen sink drama, plus Irishness, might make The Commitments the obvious comparator, but think more in the vein of Son Of Rambow, with music instead of movies.
There’s a touch of Michel Gondry’s Be Kind Rewind or Garth Jennings’s Son of Rambow in the band’s attempts to reproduce the high-gloss sheen of Russell Mulcahy’s pop videos in a Dublin backstreet, armed only with a silk scarf, a cowboy outfit and an abundance of eyeliner.
The themes here are rich, the treatment indulgent and harmless, like a pre-fab version of a John Carney movie (“Once,” “Begin Again”).
Hearts Beat Loud is best described as a musical very much in the vein as John Carney’s films like Sing Street and Begin Again .
Surface comparisons can be made to other musical bonding movies, particularly the work of John Carney, helmer of Once and Begin Again .
Directed by Brett Haley ( The Hero , I'll See You In My Dreams ), it stands alongside the films of John Carney, like Once and Begin Again , in telling a soulful story filled with equally soulful music.
Si la película fuera un disco LP, se podría colocar en el mueble dentro de la misma categoría y estatus de otras obras musicales como Begin Again o Sing Street de John Carney, e incluso junto a la reciente Amor de vinilo escrita por Nick Hornby.
If anything, it’s even better than The Commitments because it doesn’t go in for the slick manipulation associated with that film’s director, Alan Parker.
Sing Street has drawn plenty of comparison to Alan Parker’s 1991 feature The Commitments, about a different group of working-class Dubliners who form a band.
All it takes is one sequence that feels pulled together from everything from The Blues Brothers to The Commitments (the spirit of the latter hovering over this more innocent film like a funny, drunk uncle) and presto, Conor’s got his band.
Because of this setting, it’s been compared to Alan Parker’s The Commitments , but it’s nowhere near as gritty.
The story plays like a charming junior version of “The Commitments,” following the group as dreams come true, wishes are fulfilled and they actually become a good, unknown band.
Sing Street flaunts its influences rather proudly: There’s a touch of Rushmore, a sprinkle of Freaks and Geeks, a large dose of Almost Famous, and, inevitably, a bit of The Commitments, Alan Parker’s 1991 film about another budding Irish band.
A Star Is Born (2018)
Directed by Bradley Cooper
influenced by Begin Again (2013), Once (2007)
Music Themes
The music can’t compare to recent song-heavy films like “Sing Street” and “Begin Again.”
Bradley Cooper has managed to assemble an utter powerhouse of a film that feels like a gritty La La Land, or the older kid John Carney’s Begin Again was told not to hang around with.
Recent films like Inside Llewyn Davis, Begin Again, Straight Outta Compton and Sing Street excel at linking the music each character is making to their emotional mindset; why say it when you can sing it?
It never reaches the level of something like 2007’s Oscar-winning Irish drama Once, but Cooper and Gaga sell their relationship as a genuine love connection, despite its seemingly quick development.
Con claras referencias a “Almost Famous”, “Say Anything”, y a las mencionadas “Once” y “Begin Again” (incluso a “Back to the Future”), “Sing Street” nos demuestra por qué la música es perfecta para expresar frustraciones y esperanzas.
A beautiful amalgam of “ Almost Famous ,” and “ Say Anything ,” with a hint of “ Once ,” John Carney is again at his top conveying a musical drama centered on more impoverished characters.
Then Sing Street, the outfit from Sing Street, could take its rightful place alongside the Rutles (Neil Innes and Eric Idle’s brilliant parallel-universe Beatles); Sex Bob-Omb (whose songs were by Beck) from Scott Pilgrim Vs the World; the Juicy Fruits (a Beach Boys send-up) from Phantom of the Paradise; the Carrie Nations (nee The Kelly Affair) from Beyond the Valley of the Dolls; and, of course, Spinal Tap, whose “Big Bottom” eclipses much of the genre it was supposed to be spoofing.
The School of Rock (2003)
Directed by Richard Linklater
influenced Sing Street (2016)
Plot Visuals Themes
The ensuing scramble to whip up band members and write their little tunes is a treat, tapping into the same rag-tag underdog appeal as School of Rock and The Mighty Ducks.
Still a charismatic cast and good writing conveys the social milieu of the time and in the highlight sequences of band rehearsals, music video productions and shining performances, you get some of the same goose bumps you got when Jack Black tore it up with his prodigious students in School of Rock.
The bittersweet, “happy sad” drama that follows has drawn inevitable, if misguided, comparisons with The Commitments , yet tonally this is closer to the teen spirit of Todd Graff’s 2009 film Bandslam (to which David Bowie lent an approving cameo) or even Richard Linklater’s sublime School of Rock .
It’s kind of a cross between “School of Rock” and “The Commitments,” with a little “Almost Famous” thrown in.
At the age of 28, rootless Megan (Keira Knightley, "Begin Again") realizes she's appalled by the high school friends she still hangs around with.
If this movie and last summer’s “Begin Again” are any indication, she might really be a comic actress.
But together with her turn in this past summer's superior rom-com "Begin Again," it not only stands to remind audiences of her impressive range as an actress, but -- steeped as her character is in a down-to-Earth charm and girl-next-door approachability -- it also shows that she can rock a punchline every bit as well as she can a petticoat.
But it's also the way the actress is making herself at home in lighter films, like the delightful "Begin Again," from earlier this summer, in which she spends her time navigating the New York music scene with Mark Ruffalo.
When she’s not squeezing into corsets or chunky cardigans, as she does in this month’s The Imitation Game, Keira Knightley’s carving a niche for herself over the pond in low-budget crowd-pleasers like Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World and this year’s music industry romance Begin Again.
Carney handles the ambiguous dynamic with care and creativity, avoiding “A Star Is Born” cliches while indulging in all the pleasures the familiar plot has to offer.
That brings us back to the club when Dan first hears Greta's music and things falls into a more linear "A Star is Born" type story with Dan wanting to produce a record and sign Greta onto his label so that he can get back into the good graces of his former partner Saul.
To answer the original title’s question: A song can bring Dan closer to his disaffected teen daughter (Hailee Steinfeld) and get her to stop dressing, as Dan puts it, like Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver.
Dan complains that his estranged 14-year-old daughter (Hailee Steinfeld) dresses like Jodie Foster in “Taxi Driver” (in fact, she does).
An improvised song-and-dance routine is the film’s most charming, reminiscent of John Carney’s great 2006 Dublin-set romance “Once” and a nice break from “Blue Valentine’s” indie score by Brooklyn’s Grizzly Bear.
It’s a cute idea, a moment straight out of Walt Disney’s “Fantasia,” but it’s later explained away as part of Steve’s drunkenness.
Full marks if you recognize the actress to be Lucy Boynton, who once appeared in the 2006 film Miss Potter as the young Beatrix Potter.
A friendly face, Darren (newcomer Ben Carolan), gives him advice that also helps Conor meet the older, more worldly model Raphina (Lucy Boynton, "Miss Potter"), whom Conor offers a music video gig.
When the brothers analyze a music video, or a teen keyboardist proves his chops by launching into Harold Faltermeyer’s synth-pop theme from “Beverly Hills Cop,” you know Carney has sharp memories of the era.
Sing Street is, quite possibly, the best film about the coming-of-age experience since Rob Reiner’s Stand By Me.