Film ReviewsThe Song Of The Sea: a selkie's story
Mar 6, 2015 Anchorage Press
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Human beings transforming to animals, and animals transforming to human beings, are metamorphoses at the heart of myths told across cultures, from Ovid's work, to the Celtic stories and beyond. The Song of the Sea, written by Will Collins and Tomm Moore, and directed by the latter, retells an Irish story about a "Selkie," a mythical being that transforms from a seal to a human being and can live among them, even fall in love and procreate, but always longing to return to the sea. A Selkie can only transform to a seal again with its coat. Without it, a Selkie is trapped in its human form. In some myths, human beings attempt to hold on to Selkies by hiding their skins, and it seems that time and time again, trying to hold on to Selkies always leads to unintended consequences. Variations on the myth of the Selkie (also called "selchies" or "roanes") are found throughout Irish, English and Scottish shores. The myth is so prevalent that it forms part of contemporary culture through music, film and pop culture, from John Sayle's 1994 The Secret of Roan Inish, to Tori Amos' song "Selkie" found on her most recent album, Unrepentant Geraldines.
The Song of the Sea is a children's film that adults will find compelling because of its emotional depth. Even before the opening credits are complete, the heart of the film is poetically given to viewers with the lines:
Come away oh human child
To the waters and the wild
With the fairy hand in hand
For the world is more full of weeping than you can understand
From this point on, the story reveals itself like a story within a story. The plot is driven by the relationship of Ben (David Rawle), a scruffy, chipped-tooth, ginger-haired boy, and his sister, Saoirse (Lucy O'Connell), a six-year-old who has not yet found her voice. The kids live with their father, Conor (Brendan Gleeson), a distraught but loving lighthouse keeper. The mother disappeared from their lives when Saoirse was born and the loss in unbearable for the husband and incompressible for Ben. The mother and the daughter share the mystery of the Selkie world, which is unknown to Ben. The kids are sent to live with their grandmother and their quest begins when they run away to come back home. Despite his resentment of his little sister, Ben transforms into a courageous big brother who honors his mother's stories as his own transformation happens. As they traverse through a fantastical world and come across fairies, owls and Macha (Fionnula Flanagan), the antagonist and misguided Celtic goddess, Ben discovers that his Selkie sister is deteriorating and he must find her coat so that she can find her voice and transcend. The character development is predictable, but again, this is a children's story. However, the way in which the story is delivered is beautifully brilliant.
The strength of the film is in telling an old story in a new and captivating way, with music and computer generated graphics that augment the fluidity of hand drawings and watercolors. Similarly to its predecessor, Moore's The Secret of Kells, The Song of the Sea features shapes filled with other shapes, like cathedrals of lines that unravel into cosmic elements that flow from scene to scene. The scenes and characters are beautifully illustrated, at times static, and sometimes translucent but always interesting. Both Films were nominated for Academy awards and received accolades worldwide. The musical score is key to the story because it is through music that Saoirse can find her voice, and was composed by Bruno Coulais, who also scored The Secret of Kells.
The Song of the Sea delves into questions that have a deeper philosophical meaning. The film raises questions about viewers' assumptions about reality and the world of imagination, about individuals' unique stories in time and in the fabric of existence. In some ways, the film asks viewers to reconsider their own environment and not dismiss what they cannot see or understand. After all, the myth about the word "myth" is that these are untrue. However, the origin of the word indicates that words, thoughts and stories relayed as myths come from unknown origins, but not necessarily that these are false. In the contemporary use of the word, "myth" is often interchanged with fictitious stories or fables, and often one interprets myths as non-fact-based stories. Unfortunately for the modern world, the current use of "myth" drives a wedge between legends and history, magic and science. The Song of the Sea begs viewers to consider that perhaps between facts and truth are myths that complete the human and cosmic story.
Song of the Sea will show at the Bear Tooth Theatrepub from Fri., Mar. 6 through Tue., Mar. 10 at 12:30 p.m. daily.
The Song of the Sea is a children's film that adults will find compelling because of its emotional depth. Even before the opening credits are complete, the heart of the film is poetically given to viewers with the lines:
Come away oh human child
To the waters and the wild
With the fairy hand in hand
For the world is more full of weeping than you can understand
From this point on, the story reveals itself like a story within a story. The plot is driven by the relationship of Ben (David Rawle), a scruffy, chipped-tooth, ginger-haired boy, and his sister, Saoirse (Lucy O'Connell), a six-year-old who has not yet found her voice. The kids live with their father, Conor (Brendan Gleeson), a distraught but loving lighthouse keeper. The mother disappeared from their lives when Saoirse was born and the loss in unbearable for the husband and incompressible for Ben. The mother and the daughter share the mystery of the Selkie world, which is unknown to Ben. The kids are sent to live with their grandmother and their quest begins when they run away to come back home. Despite his resentment of his little sister, Ben transforms into a courageous big brother who honors his mother's stories as his own transformation happens. As they traverse through a fantastical world and come across fairies, owls and Macha (Fionnula Flanagan), the antagonist and misguided Celtic goddess, Ben discovers that his Selkie sister is deteriorating and he must find her coat so that she can find her voice and transcend. The character development is predictable, but again, this is a children's story. However, the way in which the story is delivered is beautifully brilliant.
The strength of the film is in telling an old story in a new and captivating way, with music and computer generated graphics that augment the fluidity of hand drawings and watercolors. Similarly to its predecessor, Moore's The Secret of Kells, The Song of the Sea features shapes filled with other shapes, like cathedrals of lines that unravel into cosmic elements that flow from scene to scene. The scenes and characters are beautifully illustrated, at times static, and sometimes translucent but always interesting. Both Films were nominated for Academy awards and received accolades worldwide. The musical score is key to the story because it is through music that Saoirse can find her voice, and was composed by Bruno Coulais, who also scored The Secret of Kells.
The Song of the Sea delves into questions that have a deeper philosophical meaning. The film raises questions about viewers' assumptions about reality and the world of imagination, about individuals' unique stories in time and in the fabric of existence. In some ways, the film asks viewers to reconsider their own environment and not dismiss what they cannot see or understand. After all, the myth about the word "myth" is that these are untrue. However, the origin of the word indicates that words, thoughts and stories relayed as myths come from unknown origins, but not necessarily that these are false. In the contemporary use of the word, "myth" is often interchanged with fictitious stories or fables, and often one interprets myths as non-fact-based stories. Unfortunately for the modern world, the current use of "myth" drives a wedge between legends and history, magic and science. The Song of the Sea begs viewers to consider that perhaps between facts and truth are myths that complete the human and cosmic story.
Song of the Sea will show at the Bear Tooth Theatrepub from Fri., Mar. 6 through Tue., Mar. 10 at 12:30 p.m. daily.