Sing Street - DVD

Film: Dublin in the 1980s: 15-year-old Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) doesn't exactly lead a carefree life. His parents (Aiden Gillen & Maria Doyle Kennedy) are constantly fighting, and with the recession also having a full grip on his family, he is taken out of expensive private school. Henceforth he must attend a public school on Synge Street, where on his very first day he makes the unpleasant acquaintance of strict mores and nasty classmates. But then he sees the slightly older Raphina (Lucy Boynton) across the street, who turns his head at first sight. In fact, Conor finds the courage to approach the girl and when she tells him she wants to be a model, he offers her the chance to be in his band's next music video. There's just one small problem: Conor doesn't have a band. That has to change as soon as possible.

Sing Street is John Carney's third musical directorial effort after Once and Can a song save your life. This time the focus is on the 80s lifestyle in what is again a very charming story. Admittedly, the whole thing is set in an Ireland marked by recession and political crises. Nevertheless, the film is not a dreary social drama. With a lot of humor and even more music, Carney tells a wonderful coming-of-age story about first great love and about the difficulty of finding one's own identity as a teenager. Especially viewers who grew up in the 80s will recognize themselves or someone from their circle of friends in one of the many endearing characters. Carney has perfectly succeeded in recreating this very special musical and fashionable era with a loving wink, while paying worthy tribute to some of the greats of the music scene at the time.

Carney's love of music is especially revealed here in that he succeeds well in showing how the right songs can help a person get through difficult times. Music as an expression of feelings - whether you just listen to it or make it yourself - is a hugely important catalyst that can help young people in particular get through many a crisis. When you can express yourself in this way, or you hear the songs of someone who makes you feel understood, then broken hearts, problems at school, a lack of future prospects or even the separation of parents can simply be dealt with better. And that's exactly what Carney is able to illustrate perfectly in this film. With a lot of humor, some cruelly funny, but unfortunately very realistic fashion sins and songs that are once again extremely catchy, Sing Street hits the audience right in the heart and provides a comforting warmth there, which is then reflected in a satisfied smile.

Critics might accuse the film of neglecting social issues in Dublin too much, and that the film lacks depth as a result. But since the protagonist is a teenager in love, this is absolutely authentic. Because for Conor, it's not his father's unemployment or his mother's affair that is the most important thing in life right now, but Raphina. And that's exactly why it's absolutely right that this is also the focus of the story and everything else is rather secondary. The fact that it doesn't take us and his friends long to become really good musicians, on the other hand, might not be entirely realistic. But it should not be forgotten that this is not a documentary, but an extremely sympathetic fairy tale about first love - and there you don't have to take it so exactly with reality in all aspects.

Sing Street simply offers nice, funny and heartfelt entertainment that allows you to escape reality for just under 100 minutes and just enjoy a beautiful story. The film is a wee bit like a John Hughes version of Carney's earlier films. Kids of the 80's and anyone who loves likeable coming-of-age movies should definitely not miss this one. Absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The DVD's picture and sound quality are exactly what can be expected from a recent production. The picture is absolutely clean, the gaudy 80s colour scheme is coherent and the contrasts are also on a good level. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix doesn't fire up any big surround fireworks, as is usual for the genre. However, there is always audible movement in the multi-channel area, especially through the music, which creates a very positive overall impression. Good!

Extras: The bonus material sounds more extensive than it actually is. It consists primarily of short promo clips, with some overlap throughout. The making of (approx. 4:42 min.) is far too brief and offers little real info on the making of the film. After that, director John Carney and singer Adam Levine give their thoughts on the film (approx. 3:17 min.). This is followed by mini-featurettes about the cast (approx. 3:01 min.), the story (approx. 3:28 min.), the music (approx. 2:25 min.), and a short version of the making of in German (approx. 3:45 min.). In addition, there are two music videos (approx. 3:28 + 3:38 min.) and a making of video for "Go now" (approx. 3:29 min.). The trailer for the film closes out the additional offerings.

Conclusion: Sing Street is a wonderful feel-good movie for all kids of the 80s. It is a declaration of love to the music of that time, but at the same time a charming story about the first great love. The DVD pleases with a decent picture and sound quality. The bonus material is quite extensive, but unfortunately only scratches the surface. Nevertheless, all in all: Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp