Review of Song of the Sea, Directed by Tomm Moore
In the arena of contemporary animation, the dominant names are Pixar chief John Lasseter (American), and Studio Ghibli co-founder Hiyao Miyazaki (Japanese). But with two features now under his belt, Irishman Tomm Moore has made his bid to join the ranks of the world’s elite animators.
Moore’s The Secret of Kells (2009) imaginatively adapted a story from Irish mythology through two-dimensional, hand-drawn animation that felt surprisingly contemporary even as it evoked medieval paintings. The story’s powerful, at times unsettling, blend of nature, spirits and supernaturalism gives the film a haunting quality at times that’s akin to certain Studio Ghibli films (although in Moore’s case, the story has strong Christian elements).
The Ghibli connection continues with Moore’s Song of the Sea is distributed by G-Kids, the distributor of Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli films in North America. And like The Secret of Kells, the new Moore film has been nominated for the Best Animated Film Oscar. (G-Kids touts that it has distributed four Oscar nominees prior to Song—Kells, A Cat in Paris [2012], Chico & Rita [2012] and Ernest and Celestine [2014].) On top of all that, G-Kids also distributed in North American the wonderful From Up on Poppy Hill (2011), which, like Song of the Sea, feels very unlike the typical animated film American kids see at the cinema. That alone makes it worth seeking out.
The film’s opening moments include one of its more traumatic sequences, as Ben (voice of David Rawle) remembers the night his sister Saoirse (Lucy O’Connell) was born—the same night he lost his mother (voice of Lisa Hannigan). Ben and Saoirse have been raised by their father (Brendan Gleeson) on an island, where dad tends a lighthouse but doesn’t keep a constant eye on his children. The children’s grandmother (Fionnula Flanagan) worries about her grandkids’ safety, not to mention the state of mind of her son-in-law, who drowns his sorrows each year on Saoirse’s birthday.
Dad’s also overprotective of Saoirse, who still doesn’t talk and has fallen into the habit of leaving the lighthouse and walking into the sea, where seals mysteriously gather to meet her. Could Saoirse be one of the Selkies, or seal children—creatures who are seals in the water but who transform into humans on land? And what is the connection between Saoirse, her mother’s death and her father’s overprotectiveness?
The answers will involve a journey by Saoirse and Ben that is marked by magical encounters and danger—chiefly from an owl witch named Macha—not to mention fairies and a giant.
Director Moore has called Song of the Sea a kind of “spiritual sequel” to “Secret of Kells,” and the film combines several stories in one: a coming-of-age tale for Ben, a father-son story, and a story about siblings or, more broadly, about family life—its joys and sorrows, and the choices we make to learn to live with each other’s differences. It also has a commendable intergenerational component, with a grandparent offering advice (sometimes harshly) and guidance to her son-in-law and grandchildren.
While not overtly Christian in its story elements, Song of the Sea shows the transforming power of forgiveness, even in the lives of those who might be deemed wicked. Parents confess their sins to their family, and Ben, realizing his own failings, shows a new level of maturity by apologizing for his own lack of caring.
Song of the Sea is a lovely, moving film, full of striking images and memorable moments. It’s also the confirmation of a major animation talent in Moore, whose work likely will be worth seeking out for years to come.
In the meantime, seek this one out if you can. It’s playing in limited release, but its recent Oscar nomination should help make it more widely available than it would have been without the nomination. It’s the sort of small, lovely film that could have you rooting for it come Oscar night.
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