Song of the Sea (Tomm Moore, 2014): Ireland / Denmark / Belgium / Luxembourg / France

Reviewed by Rebeca Forward. Viewed at the AFIFest 2014.

The Song of the Sea – a work of art! The children animated movie is about a girl who is the last “Selkie”. It is an Irish/ Scottish legend, that turns seals into human. It begins with a happy family. The mom is pregnant and tells her sun a story. The story turns when the baby is born, the mom disappears into the sea, she left behind her husband and the two children. The two children and the dad are living at a little island with a lighthouse. The daughter wouldn’t speak and the dad is so sad about the loss of the love of his life that he sends the two children, Ben and Saoirse to the city so they can live with the grandmother, Ben had to leave his dog behind because the city wasn’t a place for such a big dog. The children want to go back and get the dog and so the adventure begins. Even if the director mentioned at the beginning that it could be scary because of the witch, the lovely owl witch that looked like the grandmother wasn’t that scary or spooky at all.

Director Tomm Moore created a wonderful piece of art, with the sound, the hand-animated scenes and lightning it is just breathtaking. He captured the legend perfectly. He really nailed the happy and sad emotion during the whole movie.

Even if it’s a children movie, parents should be aware that they can lose some tears too.

It’s a lovely play between lightening and darkness. It’s a movie that is worth going too and should definitely be shown in the cinemas all around the world. I am still fascinated about this movie!