This film is part of Rentals
Sing Street
The third in John Carney’s trilogy of musical films is the utterly charming story a boy who escapes his troubles through fronting a pop band.
Director: John Carney
Overview
After Once and Begin Again, John Carney returns to Ireland for the third of his musical stories. In 1980s Dublin young Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) is struggling to adapt to a new school until he meets the beautiful and super-cool Raphina (Lucy Boynton). In an effort to impress her he joins a band, finding he has an unexpected flair for songwriting. Before long he’s reinvented as ‘Cosmo’, star-turn for a flamboyant synth-pop act, and becomes fully immersed in a world of music that transcends all his other family problems.
John Carney’s sojourn in New York for Begin Again may have led to an Oscar nomination for Best Song, but the writer-director felt that something got lost in the transatlantic translation. Back in Dublin his mojo is well and truly returned in a film bursting with heart and soul. There’s an element of nostalgia to its celebration of 1980s culture, but it’s carefully crafted and far from the outright fetishisation we sometimes see on screen. The songs are particularly well crafted, oozing echoes of Duran Duran and The Cure but cannily constructed in their own right (former Danny Wilson frontman Gary Clark was a co-writer). Sharing some of spirit of The Commitments (though with different musical styles) Sing Street is a funny, smart and utterly charming film that’s guaranteed to leave you smiling.
infrequent strong language, drug use, moderate sex references, smoking
Related
Palestine 36 Palestine 36
Period drama 2025 120 mins Director: Annemarie Jacir
Acclaimed Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir’s most ambitious work is a powerful exploration of the events leading up to the Arab Revolt of 1936.
Plainclothes Plainclothes
Drama 2025 97 mins Director: Carmen Emmi
Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey lead a Sundance-prize winning ensemble in this knockout cruising drama from debut director Carmen Emmi.
Young Hearts Young Hearts
Drama 2024 99 mins Director: Anthony Schatteman
A gentle and sincere story of queer love between two young teenage boys, told with warmth and humour.
Solo Solo
Drama 2025 102 mins Director: Sophie Dupuis
Emerging drag queen Simon begins a passionate, yet destructive relationship with an alluring new man, as his mother re-enters his life after 15 years
Christy Christy
Drama 2025 95 mins Director: Brendan Canty
Deeply moving portrait of a young man thrown out of his foster home, trying for a new start after moving in with his estranged brother in Cork.
A Night Like This A Night Like This
Drama 2025 101 mins Director: Liam Calvert
Two seemingly mismatched men form an unexpected connection over the course of one cold London night, in this warm-hearted debut from Liam Calvert.
American Honey American Honey
Drama 2016 163 mins Director: Andrea Arnold
Andrea Arnold dazzles with a sun-soaked and tune-filled epic about door-to-door teenage magazine sellers (led by Shia LeBeouf) traversing the American highways.
Girlhood Girlhood
Drama 2014 113 mins Director: Céline Sciamma
In the tough suburbs of Paris, sixteen-year-old Marieme decides to reinvent herself when she joins a girl gang.
Fish Tank Fish Tank
Drama 2009 118 mins Director: Andrea Arnold
BAFTA winner and coming-of-age story starring newcomer Katie Jarvis as disaffected teen Mia and Michael Fassbender in one of his earliest film roles.
Summer 1993 Summer 1993
Drama 2017 98 mins Director: Carla Simón
An outstanding debut feature charting the emotional journey of a six-year old girl in the aftermath of her mother’s death in early 1990s Spain.
The Ciambra The Ciambra
Drama 2017 118 mins Director: Jonas Carpignano
A boy's life on the mean streets of a cloistered Calabrian community is captured in eye-opening realism, in this stunning work from the director of Mediterranea.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Drama 2018 92 mins Director: Desiree Akhavan
Chloë Grace Moretz is the girl who finds her tribe with fellow ‘sinners’ at a religious camp where they are told to pray the gay away.
Palestine 36 Palestine 36
Period drama 2025 120 mins Director: Annemarie Jacir
Acclaimed Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir’s most ambitious work is a powerful exploration of the events leading up to the Arab Revolt of 1936.
Ghost Trail Ghost Trail
Thriller 2024 106 mins Director: Jonathan Millet
Tense, morally complex political thriller about a man hunting down fugitive war criminals from the Assad regime in Syria, inspired by true events.
Plainclothes Plainclothes
Drama 2025 97 mins Director: Carmen Emmi
Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey lead a Sundance-prize winning ensemble in this knockout cruising drama from debut director Carmen Emmi.
What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day? What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day?
Documentary 2005 45 mins Director: Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly’s second collaboration with pop band Saint Etienne traces the hidden history of East London’s Lower Lea Valley before its Olympic makeover.
Young Hearts Young Hearts
Drama 2024 99 mins Director: Anthony Schatteman
A gentle and sincere story of queer love between two young teenage boys, told with warmth and humour.
Finisterre Finisterre
Documentary 2003 59 mins Director: Kieran Evans and Paul Kelly
A journey from London’s suburbs to its heart, charting the influence of the city on indie pop band Saint Etienne.