1. Sing Street
Narrative theory: at the beginning of sing street the equilibrium was broke straight away with the
familybeingdisruptedandarguingandthe boysseeminglyhappylifebeing shattered by the events
alongwithmovingto a new school. The film continues to follow the structure of Todorov by Conor
deciding that he wants to join and start a band to cope and distract him from the issues in his life
such as school.There isa newequilibriumatthe end aswell where the two main characters Connor
and Raphinarunaway togetherleavingthereoldlivestostart a new in England bring almost certain
danger with them,
Genre: sing street is a musical, which documents the life of a young Irish boy and budding singer
Connor.The filmcontainsmanysongsthroughouthence itbeingamusical whichare usually related
to real life situations and environment’s, where we see them as a band in a real life narrative.
Musicalsingeneral are usuallyupliftingandcreatesthe image thatthe worldcouldbe a better place
which is very true in sing street, this is best shown in the scene of “drive it like you stole it” which
documents the way in which life for Connor could be so much better.
Subgenres:there isan elementof romance insingstreetasthe maincharacter and a younggirl who
seemed destined to be together are given their own plot in the film. Sing street is set in a fairly
unpleasant Dublin and what life is like for a young boy such as Connor who struggles with family
issues such as parents splitting up.
Micro analysis:
Cinematography – this is used when we are first introduced to Connors new school, there is heavy
rock musicwhichcomplimentsthe intenseenvironmentthatour protagonist is in. there are several
shots of violence between the children and at one point there is a shot of a boy running out
throwinga deadrat on a stick,whilst all this is going on the camera follows Connor to make us feel
emergedinthe scene.Towardsthe end of the film whilst performing “drive it like you stole it” the
mood is very different the camera floats through the crowd whilst the boys are singing on stage
showing how Connor is seeing his parents his, brother, Raphine and even the school principal.
Editing- inthese twoscenesthere isavarietyof midshotsand close upson Connor,at the beginning
whenConnorisfirstintroducedtothe school the close ups on Connors face show how he is uneasy
withthe current situation he is in. however in contrast when performing “drive it like you stole it”
the feeling is much more happier, and the close ups on Connor focus on how he is very happy and
overjoyed at the current situation.
Sound- the soundinthe scene where Connoriswalkingintoschool forthe firsttime isveryloudand
aggressive with heavy rock and shouting throughout the scene. The sound occasionally focuses on
nasty/harshcommentsdirectedtowardshim, you can even hear a head butt in a fight scene during
thisas well tocreate a veryunpleasantatmosphere.Howeverin“drive itlike youstole it” the sound
isalwaysfocusedonthe song being played by the boys which compliments what we see on screen
of a crowd of people dancing and being happy.
Mise on scene- for the first scene there is emphasis on Connor being alone by himself and
surroundedina crowdof menacing people who he doesn’t fit in with. The school uniform worn by
2. the student’sisquestionableandtheyall look scruffy and rough, most people are smoking which is
considered to be very rebellious at a school and dangerous. All of this is being observed by the
principle watching over in a tall building staring out of a window not looking too bothered by the
whole situation.
Messages and values: the main message that I took away form sing street was that even though
thingsmightnot look so good at that moment, there is never a reason to give up hope. Anything is
worth trying at least once.
Audience: the film was mainly aimed at two different age ranges of people though really anyone
couldwatch andenjoythe film.The mainone wouldbe teenagers as it’s a film about a young group
of people who want to form a band. Its also aimed at people who were teenagers at this time as it
couldbe verynostalgicfor them as it takes them back to their childhood. The next group of people
could be fans of the writer/director who had a big hit a few years ago with “once”, or people who
like Irish cinema this could appeal to them also.
Purpose: sing street is not a film which was given a massive budget to make the film and sell it to
make lotsof moneyhowever the film will definitely have intentions of making as much profit as it
possiblycan.The core purpose of this film will be to make money, but there are also other reasons
for making the film such as: to entertain people as all movies should, to promote Irish cinema and
Irelanditself,tosell the soundtrackthatwasmade withthe film and to promote the careers of both
the young actors involved in the making of sing street along with the directors and crew.
