SING STREET... life is better singing

This is not a story of love, neither about life, nor music, but definitely is all about all of that and none of them. Is a story about happiness and sadness cause love and life is happy/sad. And is about that moment in life when we have to man up and except life for what it is and take it how it comes, accepting the fact that can be shitty and will be stupid people around us trying to make our lives miserable but only accepting that we'll be able to face it and enjoy it seeing what is good about it. Because that's what music is for, a form of expression to expuse ourselves to others with music and lyrics that will show our feeling and thoughts to others in a way that simple words or actions can't. That's how rock n' roll was created and exploded back in time, as a revolution, an art form for the rebels seeking truth among all social repression and trying to prove that we can be better, that we are different from what everybody expect and it's ok to be different and we can respect and accept other for their versatility and diversity is part of humanity. We are all different but at the same time we all share the same questions, we all seek the same ideals and love and we all scream for acceptance and respect, while we need to stand by ourselves and be recognize for it, so at the end all this is about fighting for our dreams and as every cliche, for every boy, it's all about a girl.

This is "Sing Street" (2016), the new film from the creator and director of "Once" (2008), and Begin Again" (2014), two stories very different from each other but one thing in common: music is one of the main characters and as it is brings a new feeling about stories about love and family, but not in this case, where for a third round music will be line to tell a story about growing up but this is not a coming of age story, neither a feel god movie even that it's music evokes those great beats that became classic back in the 80's creating a soundtrack that screams hormones and youth at every note, so since the beginning we are touch for those bands that are part of anyones childhood if grew up back in that classic decade of the 80's, where rock n' roll evolve into a more pop and joyful scene, and the music videos became a new art. In this way we are introduce to the life of Conor, a teenager from Dublin, Ireland, trapped in a dysfunctional family where his parents keep fighting every night, and their mistakes as usual ended changing their kids lives, like sending him to a new school, a catholic one, where will be only boys, and bullying comes either from other tormented classmates as from their closed minded priests/teachers.

Trapped in this new world, he sees the light in a shape of a beautiful girl that dreams to become a model and moved to London where she will make her dreams come true and specially moved away from that island. But she's not interested in younger guys, she has higher expectations that can't come from teenagers across the street. So he lies and invites her to be part of his band video. So now, first of all, he will need to have a band. And with so, he embarks in a journey where music is just an excuse or a way to better purpose. But in this new adventure he is as blind as he is naive and clueless in love and life, so he only finds the light in hands of his older brother, a guy that lives trapped in the house of his parents after quitting to his dreams in order to help his family and save his little brother from the chaos they've been living for the last years, and his lack of courage to fight for his dreams, he only sees them through the tv and a record collection that makes him look like a music enciclopedia. so he helps his brother with the lyrics for his new band, so he is introduced to music by his new friends and band mates and now they are easy to go and practice and perform. So what starts as just as an excuse to impress and talk to a girl becomes a guy motivation in life, helping him to realize who he is, making him confident of his talent and surrounded by people that accepts him and share ideals makes him face challenges that in other way he'd never had done.

But remember we already say that this is not a feel good movie nether a coming to age one. But at this point the director will have made us relate to this characters and be rotting with them through the sticky lyrics of their songs while they learn about life and become a man while still be a young guy. And even we are enjoying their new songs mashing up with old classics, not every thing is sweet and rainbows in here, because life is not like that, and as everyone of us learned at some point, will be tough moments that we'd prefer to skip or forget but we need them in order to learn and grow up, become stronger. To love or be loved we need to get our heart broken. To understand what means to get to know someone and cherish someone at your side, we need to take bad decisions and understand that love is happy/sad, meaning for every happy moment will be a sad one, and that's why we dream and compose joyful songs that push us to be strong and fight harder to achieve that happiness that we want badly, cause we all, deep in us, we want for great and good thing to happen to us and the people we love: be successful, lovable, happy, able to have fun and enjoy life, but back in reality is not as easy as that cause everybody is holding their own baggage and won't go away as easy as singing a song. So we'll face them and their own ghosts, they will try to defeat us, challenge us, bring us down, so they can feel superior or better than us or just because they are afraid of us of what they don't know.

That's why music brings people together, and as a band, we need a group of people that shares our same ideals, dreams, love for stuff, and their own personalities will add a new ingredient to our own person. They will teach us some lesson the same way we will teach them with example what they like the best from us. Because we need those happy and fun moments to feel strong enough to face the rest of the world and because we can't do everything by ourselves. We always need help. And sometimes we get this from the ones we expect the less. And sometimes this comes from the places we look the least, like home. That's one of the biggest lessons that our young Conor will learn, coming from his own brother, the one that has been there always for him but never asked anything in return. He always had defend him and protect him from the chaotic environment they live at, and their selfish parents to self involve to encourage him to purse his dreams. But he gave up his dreams as a musician, because he used to be a great guitar player, use to be popular and have girls screaming at his feet. But he wasn't brave enough to leave his family and follow his own dreams. Instead he stayed and looked after his family and became the center of it, bringing some balance and fun to it. But sadly this is not his story, neither Conor's or his friends and band mates. Not even the girl in distress. This is a tribute to all of them through music but mostly this a sorry of brotherhood and a tribute to all brothers that inspire our lives and made an impact of them to push us to go after our dreams and came the real puppeteers behind them, encouraging us with advices and tips to be popular with girls and to try new things and in every move they are behind as a side kick that can be the main creator of the story of our lives, so yes, this might be a story of love, family, music and it's tribute to all brothers out there.