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Song of the Sea (2014 film)

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Song of the Sea
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTomm Moore
Screenplay byWill Collins[2]
Story byTomm Moore
Produced by
  • Tomm Moore[2]
  • Ross Murray[2]
  • Paul Young[2]
  • Stephan Roelants[2]
  • Serge Ume[2]
  • Marc Ume[2]
  • Isabelle Truc[2]
  • Clement Calvet[2]
  • Jeremie Fajner[2]
  • Frederik Villumsen[2]
  • Claus Toksvig Kjaer[2]
Starring
Edited byDarragh Byrne
Darren T. Holmes (consulting editor)
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • StudioCanal (Ireland)
  • O'Brother Distribution (Belgium)
  • Haut et Court (France)
Release dates
  • September 6, 2014 (2014-09-06) (TIFF)
  • December 10, 2014 (2014-12-10) (France/Belgium/Luxembourg)
  • February 19, 2015 (2015-02-19) (Denmark)
  • July 10, 2015 (2015-07-10) (Ireland)
Running time
93 minutes[3]
Countries
LanguagesEnglish
Irish
Box office$841,122 (US)[4]

Song of the Sea is a 2014 Irish animated fantasy film. Directed and produced by Tomm Moore, it is the second feature-length film by Cartoon Saloon. Song of the Sea follows the story of a 10 year old Irish boy (David Rawle) who discovers that his mute sister, whom he blames for the death of his mother, is a selkie who has to free faerie creatures from the Celtic goddess Macha. The hand animated film, which began production soon after the release of The Secret of Kells (2009), premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September in the TIFF Kids program.[5]

The film received worldwide critical acclaim and was even nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 87th Academy Awards in 2015.[6][7]

Plot

In October 1981, on an island off the coast of Ireland, lives Conor, a lighthouse keeper; his son Ben; his wife Bronagh, who is expecting their second child; and their sheepdog Cú. Bronagh suddenly disappears late one night-- presumed to have died during childbirth-- leaving behind her newborn daughter Saoirse behind. Six years later, Conor is a broken man, Saoirse has yet to utter a single word, and Ben has grown to despise his sister, associating her with his mother's disappearance. The family are then visited by their grandmother, Granny, for Saoirse's birthday. That night, Ben scares Saoirse with a story of Mac Lir, the giant, and his mother Macha, the Owl Witch, who stole his feelings and turned him to stone. Later, Saoirse plays a seashell horn given to Ben by their mother, and it leads her to a white sealskin coat hidden in Conor's closet. She puts the coat on and is coaxed into the ocean by a group of seals. It is then revealed that she is a beautiful white Selkie. After swimming with the seals, she is found washed up onshore by Granny, who insists upon taking the children back home to the city for their own safety. Conor reluctantly agrees despite Ben's protests, especially that Cú cannot go with them, and throws the chest containing Saoirse's coat and its key into the sea.

The following night on Halloween, Saoirse plays the shell, alerting a group of Faerie creatures to her presence. Ben and Saoirse begin attempting to travel home, but encounter the Faeries who hope that Saoirse will sing the Song of the Sea and allow them and all their brethren to travel home to Tír na nÓg. Unfortunately, they are attacked by Macha's owls, who turn the Faeries to stone. The siblings take a bus into the country, where they run into Cú, who had originally been following them to the city. Unfortunately, without her coat, Saoirse is rapidly growing deathly ill, shown by her hair turning white. They come across a sacred well that Saoirse falls into. Ben tries to follow her and meets the Great Seanachai, who tells Ben that his sister has been kidnapped by Macha's owls. The Faerie also reveals that Saoirse is mute because she does not have her coat and will soon die without it. He gives the boy one of his hairs that will lead him to the witch's house, and in the process sees that the night his mother left, she departed into the sea and left Saoirse with their father, and tearfully realizes how selfish and unfair he has been to Saoirse all these years. Ben then meets Macha, who is not the villain he imagined. She claims that when her son, Mac Lir, suffered from a broken heart, she took away his suffering, turning him into the small island near Ben's home. She is determined to do the same for everyone, even herself.

Ben manages to rescue Saoirse and the shell's song releases Macha's feelings back into her, which helps her recognize the gravity of her actions. The witch helps Ben, Saoirse, and Cú fly back home with the spirits of Mac Lir's dogs. The children arrive home during a storm, and Conor attempts to take them back to the mainland to get Saoirse to a hospital; at the same time, Granny is on her way to their island in search of her missing grandchildren. Ben dives into the sea in search of Saoirse's coat, which he recovers with help from the seals and his father. The group is then washed up on Mac Lir's island, where Saoirse, reunited with her coat, is restored to health and sings her song. Faerie creatures from across Ireland rise and travel to Mac Lir's island, and Mac Lir himself emerges with Macha and his dogs as they head to Tír na nÓg. Bronagh appears with the sad news that she and Saoirse must depart as well. However, since Saoirse is part human, Bronagh is able to take her coat and leave her behind to live as a human while she departs. After a tearful goodbye, the Faeries depart across the sea, and Ben and his family happily return home to their island, where Granny finally arrives, and decides the children can stay with their father.

Voice cast

Music

Untitled

The original music for the film was composed by Bruno Coulais, in collaboration with the Irish group, Kíla. The film also features songs by Nolwenn Leroy. A soundtrack album, consisting of 25 songs from the film, was released digitally on 9 December 2014, by Decca Records.[9]

Track listing

Song Of The Sea (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
No.TitleLength
1."Song Of The Sea (performed by Lisa Hannigan)"2:42
2."The Mother's Portrait"2:26
3."The Sea Scene"2:42
4."The Song(performed by Lisa Hannigan and Lucy O' Connell)"5:16
5."The Key In The Sea"0:59
6."The Derry Tune"1:58
7."In the Streets"1:05
8."Dance With The Fish"2:05
9."The Seals"0:45
10."Something Is Wrong (performed by Lisa Hannigan)"2:04
11."Run"2:31
12."Head Credits (performed by Lisa Hannigan)"1:44
13."Get Away"1:18
14."Help"2:33
15."Sadness"1:06
16."Molly"1:05
17."I Hate You"1:33
18."Who Are You"1:19
19."The Storm"1:55
20."Katy's Tune"3:30
21."In The Bus (performed by Lisa Hannigan)"0:44
22."The Thread (performed by Lisa Hannigan)"2:24
23."Amhrán Na Farraige (performed by Lisa Hannigan)"2:45
24."Song Of The Sea (Lullaby) (From "Song Of The Sea") (performed by Nolwenn Leroy)"3:46
25."La chanson de la mer (berceuse) (Extrait du film "Le chant de la mer") (performed by Nolwenn Leroy)"3:47
Total length:54:02

Release

Song of the Sea premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September 2014 in the TIFF Kids program.[5] Theatrically, it was released in France, Belgium and Luxembourg on 10 December 2014.[10] It received a limited release in North America on 19 December 2014, which qualified it for an Academy Award nomination.[11] It was released in Ireland on 10 July 2015.[12]

Reception

Critical response

Early reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. Todd Brown, founder and editor of Twitch Film, gave a highly positive review of the film, saying that, "A tale that weds absolutely gorgeous artwork with beautifully nuanced characters and a deep but natural rooting in ancient folk tales and magic, Song of the Sea has an assured and timeless quality to it. It is the sort of story that feels as though it always existed somewhere, just waiting until now to be told." "Song of the Sea is not about selling units, it's about story and heart and emotion and wonder and craftsmanship and because of that it becomes timeless, a beautiful piece of art that will delight audiences old and young and confirms what many suspected of Moore after Kells: The man's a master storyteller, and we can only hope he has many, many more stories to tell." [13]

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 99% and an average rating of 8.4/10 based on 77 reviews.[14] It also has a score of 85 out of 100 on Metacritic from 24 reviews.[15]

Writing in the Toronto Review, Carlos Aguilar said of the film: "Watching Song of the Sea it is easy to assert that this is one of the most blissfully beautiful animated films ever made. It is a gem beaming with awe-inspiring, heartwarming magic".[16]

Sara Stewart from the New York Post said "If you want some real cinematic magic this holiday season, don’t miss this enchanting Irish film about a pair of siblings and a piece of Celtic folklore that turns out to be true".[17]

Accolades

List of Awards and Nominations

Year Award Category Recipients and nominees Results
2014 Festival International des Voix du Cinéma d'Animation (Port Leucate, France)[18] Prix Spécial du Jury Song of the Sea Won
2015 42nd Annual Annie Awards[19] Best Animated Feature Tomm Moore, Paul Young Nominated
Character Design in an Animated Feature Production Tomm Moore, Marie Thorhauge, Sandra Anderson, Rosa Ballester Cabo Nominated
Directing in an Animated Feature Production Tomm Moore Nominated
Music in a Feature Production Bruno Coulais & Kíla Nominated
Production Design in an Animated Feature Production Adrien Merigeau Nominated
Writing in an Animated Feature Production Will Collins Nominated
Editorial in an Animated Feature Production Darragh Byrne Nominated
19th Satellite Awards[20] Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature Song of the Sea Won
40th César Awards[21] Best Animated Feature Film Song of the Sea Nominated
87th Academy Awards[22] Best Animated Feature Song of the Sea Nominated
12th Irish Film & Television Awards[23] Best Film Song of the Sea Won
Best Film Script Will Collins Nominated
28th European Film Awards[24] Best Animated Feature Film Song of the Sea Won
2016 6th Magritte Awards[25] Best Foreign Film in Coproduction Song of the Sea Nominated
21st Empire Awards[26][27] Best Animated Film Song of the Sea Nominated

Also see

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Debruge, Peter (21 September 2014). "Film Review: 'Song of the Sea'". Variety. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac Debruge, Peter (21 September 2014). "Film Review: 'Song of the Sea'". Variety. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  3. ^ "SONG OF THE SEA (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  4. ^ "Song of the Sea (2014) - International Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  5. ^ a b Wolfe, Jennifer (19 August 2014). "Cartoon Saloon's 'Song of the Sea' to Premiere at TIFF". Animation World Network. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  6. ^ "Awards Season: Irish film Song of the Sea nominated for Oscar". Scannain. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  7. ^ "Irish film Song of the Sea nominated for Oscar". Scannain. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  8. ^ a b Monji, Jana (20 November 2014). "AFI FEST 2014: HAUNTING STORIES FROM ABROAD". Roger Ebert. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  9. ^ "'Song of the Sea' Soundtrack Details". Film Music Reporter. 8 November 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  10. ^ "European Release of Song of the Sea". Cartoon Saloon. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  11. ^ "GKIDS Announces North American Release Date for 'Song of the Sea'". Animation World Network. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  12. ^ "Irish Animation 'Song of the Sea' Wins a Satellite Award in the Run Up to the Oscars". Irish Film Board. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  13. ^ Brown, Todd (7 September 2014). "Toronto 2014 Review: SONG OF THE SEA Is A Timeless Delight For All Ages". Twitch Film. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  14. ^ "Song of the Sea". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  15. ^ "Song of the Sea Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  16. ^ Aguilar, Carlos (7 September 2014). "Toronto Review: "Song of the Sea" is a Blissfully Beautiful Journey Into Irish Folklore". Toronto Review. Indiewire.com. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  17. ^ "'Song of the Sea' is this season's animated masterpiece - New York Post". nypost.com/. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  18. ^ "un Prix spécial du Jury a été attribué au Chant de la mer de Tomm Moore". voixdetoiles.com. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  19. ^ "42nd Annual Annie Award Nominees". Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  20. ^ Pond, Steve (1 December 2014). "'Birdman' Leads Satellite Awards Nominations". Yahoo!. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  21. ^ "César nominations 2015". www.allocine.fr. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  22. ^ "Oscars 2015: nominations in full". 15 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  23. ^ "The IFTA 2015 Winners' List". entertainment.ie. 24 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  24. ^ "European Film Awards Winners 2015: Paolo Sorrentino's 'Youth' Scoops Best Film, Director & Actor For Michael Caine". Deadline.
  25. ^ "Magritte du cinéma : pluie de nominations pour Jaco van Dormael et Savina Dellicour". Le Soir (in French). 12 January 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  26. ^ Nugent, John. "Jameson Empire Awards 2016: Star Wars and Mad Max lead the nominations". Empire. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  27. ^ Metro.co.uk, Rebecca Lewis for. "Mad Max: Fury Road leads the pack at the 2016 Jameson Empire Awards". Metro. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
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