For those of you who don't know, Nicky is one of my best friends.
So one night when were talking, she asked me, "WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO WATCH SONG OF THE SEA!?!" (It was honestly like that. All caps. You know it's good when people are asking you to watch something they love in caps.)
 |
| Credit to Nicky Costi (flourishtodecay.tumblr.com) |
This wasn't the first time and I'd been putting it off due to reviews and writing. But after this request, how could I possibly say no?
So I said that I'd review it.
Is it as good as Nicky made it out to be?
Let's review!
Story/Dialogue: The story is based heavily in Irish folklore. A young boy named Ben loses his mother when she gives birth to his little sister, Saoirse. When she is grown, she cannot speak, but after she dons a cloak that turns her into a seal, her father, Conor puts the cloak into a lockbox and throws it into the sea. The two kids are sent away with their Grandmother, leaving their father and their sheepdog, Cu, behind.
The rest of the movie is about Ben and Saoirse trying to get home and so Saoirse can don her outfit once more to fix the world of the good neighbours.
Now, I'm trying not to spoil this for you, dear reader. I can't add more to this without ruining the story and the significance of the folklore.
My only suggestion is...if you decide to watch the movie, you look up the creatures in Irish folklore.
The dialogue is very natural. You could meet these kids, adults and elderly folk in real life and aside from hashtags, they would speak as they do in this movie.
Animation: The animation style touched on something nostalgic. It makes you think of a movie, tv series or a children's book you'd seen/read as a child. It fills you with emotion to see these character come to life as if by magic.
Each of the textures of both characters and landscape is unique. It's as if Elmer the Elephant was used in a South Park style construction of setting and characters.
The wonderfully odd thing though is that the frame rate doesn't move in the same way that stop motion would. It's as though it was scanned into a computer and had the frames move so smoothly that it was visually satisfying to watch.
It was as though it was filmed on a dolly.
Audio: Irish music is so soothing. The drums and the whistles and the soft harmonising of the voices. It made me think of an old Gamecube game called Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. The music in that game and Song of the Sea are incredibly similar.
It also draws a lot on the song that was in the story, The Snowman. I don't know. Every time I listen to the tracks I think of Walking in the Air.
It was memorable and it gets stuck in your head. Infectious, even.
Overall: This movie (after much prompting, thanks Nicky!) was absolutely delightful visually, audibly and in terms of storytelling. It drew on folklore that didn't convolute the story and allowed you to be immersed in the world as a gradual experience, rather than simply chucking you in the deep end. Another thing that Nicky mentioned and I'm inclined to agree with is the fact that it's highly rewatchable. If you're a visual person, you may need to watch it again so you can keep track of the story rather than simply looking at the textures. If you're a story person, then you can rewatch it and be taken in by the visuals. The audio is impossible to ignore as it's ingrained in the story and you may just want to rewatch it for that.
Song of the Sea was a fantastic experience that's self contained in its story and is overall incredibly satisfying. Which is why I'm giving it the Ravensmark (Picture pending,) as this symbol is reserved for media of the highest caliber.
Thus ends this review.
If you can, please share this review around as the movie is highly underrated and warrants exposure.
Please 'Like' the facebook page: facebook.com/rav3nr3vi3ws
Follow on twitter: @rave_nreviews
Follow on tumblr: rave-nreviews.tumblr.com
deviantart: ravenreviews.deviantart.com
Insta: @1nkraven
I need 30 more likes on facebook 'til I release information on the #secretproject.
Keep track of my #60minuteworkouts: paperbackraven.blogspot.com.au
No comments:
Post a Comment