Song of the Sea (2014)

 

Well dagnabbit Ireland, why do your tales always bring out the most melancholic side of me? Is it the music? Is it the subject matter? Is it the fact that they are nearly all tragic yet gripping? Or is it all of the above?

Well, in this case, it is the combination, because holy handgrenade, this is one beautifully rendered emotional tale, with an ending that rips your heart out and yet is still positive somehow. 

No, I don't know how that works, but it does. 

Conor is the man who operates the lighthouse of an island off the coast and is happy with his wife Bronach and their son Ben. Bronach is pregnant with a girl, but when the day comes that she has to give birth, she disappears and leaves behind the baby called Saoirse. 

Fast forward six years. Ben still can't swim (which is a little tricky when you live on an island) and Saoirse still hasn't spoken a single word. Conor is still pining for his wife, and just like every year, grandmother comes along for Saoirse's birthday. But things are a bit tense, as Ben doesn't really like his sister and still blames her for taking away their mom. When Saoirse finds a white coat in a chest, she puts it on and goes into the ocean, turning into a seal. 

Yes, she's a Selkie, just like her mom. 

However, when grandma finds her on the shore, she uses this to take the kids along with her to the mainland and the city as she feels the island is no longer safe. Conor also throws the chest with the coat into the sea, as he doesn't want to lose his daughter as well. But Saoirse gets weaker while on land and Ben wants to get back to the island. They trek across Ireland and discover that Saoirse needs to sing so the faeryfolk can be liberated. But the owl witch Macha is watching their every move... Time is quickly running out...

In essence, the story is a pretty straightforward quest: get back home and get Saoirse her coat so she won't die. But it's the way this is told that makes it all the more compelling. This independent production leans very heavily into the Irish heritage with every aspect. The animationstyle is different, with its own unique take on handdrawn animation and Gaelic decorations are prevalent throughout. The colours are vibrant yet earthy and the characters are distinct and stick out against the background, as the latter is already quite full of detail. It's tough to explain, but it looks absolutely beautiful in every shot and scene. It's stylized to a point where it feels more as though you're gazing at art, not just a 'cartoon'. The music complements this in a wonderful way, as this is in essence a folktale brought into the more modern age. It feels like the closure of the era of faeries, something which you will feel with a broken heart near the end. 

Yes, this will tug at your heartstrings. Hard. A large part of this is Saoirse, who is not only designed to look enormously cute, but whose expressions tell a story all by themselves. Not an easy feat to pull off, especially as she doesn't speak for nearly the entire film. 

Maybe that is the true essence of the story: heart. It sucks you in and then rips your heart from your chest. You will know at the end that this was the only possible ending they could have pulled off, but it sure as all heck will make some tears flow. 

Damn you, Irish stories and your ability to make me feel emotions. 

Just a word of warning in case it wasn't clear: this is an absolutely beautiful film, but if you're expecting happy stories with gags then you won't find it here. This is something to bring classic characters from Gaelic mythology to a new audience and it doesn't hold back. This isn't Disney. 

It is most definitely something everyone needs to see, though.