TxMike It is the 1960s, and the Beetles' music is sweeping the world. There is an annual competition in Dublin, the type of music has a name but is unfamiliar to most of the world. The local favorite band is getting ready for it, with the boys of County Clare, and one very cute and very talented girl.At the same time a band based in Liverpool is getting ready for the same competition, and its leader is the brother of the leader of the Irish band. So much of the movie involves heated competition between the brothers, including some antics to try to delay each one enough to miss the registration deadline of 8PM.Things get more complicated when the young girl in the Irish band begins to fall for a nice young boy in the Liverpool band. Her mother is unusually upset by this, and warns her daughter not to run off to Liverpool. "Let him come to you."SPOILERS. The young daughter happens to also be the daughter of the Liverpool brother, a womanizer who had had a short fling with her mother years earlier. At first it seemed that the girl would go back to Liverpool with the band, but she changed her mind and statued home. But eventually the boy from Liverpool showed up for her, as her mother had suggested. Also, a dark horse won the competition, a band put together by the 3rd of the violin playing brothers, now a missionary priest who had brought along a group of black musicians he had taught to play the Irish music.

jpschapira I had just finished watching a movie and I was planning either to write about it or to go to sleep once and for all. But then, a beautiful music (got to thank Fiachra Trench for that) arrived to my ears. Never mind, I was about to get up when I saw this girl, this lady; this beautiful woman. I recognized her from somewhere and in less than a minute I remembered her. Andrea Corr, the singer of The Corrs (a group that ironically Fiachra Trench helps musically) and now actress for the third time. She has a trapping screen presence; she's gorgeous and full of joy.The story came next, and it involved what I most love in the whole world: music. But it is not that typical music contest story. There's music all along, and a contest too; but first time screenwriter Nicholas Adams involved another things: love, family and feelings. It's the most charming script, really, in the way it introduces the film's characters, one by one and in the way it deceives us keeping the most predictable secrets hidden until the right moments.We first meet Jimmy (a very acceptable Colm Meaney), playing with his music band. He has many gifted musicians under his direction, including Teddy (an excellent young actor named Shaun Evans), who makes Jimmy because he is fond of modern music and plays that all the time. Then an old man gets up from a bed and walks a little bit. This is John Joe (Bernard Hill, that captain from Titanic now in top form), who lives, we quickly understand, for music. His band is led by Maisie (Charlotte Bradley) in the piano, and Anne, (the character played by Andrea Corr) who has a gift for the violin.Thinking in other movies of this type, the music movies that bring up past moments for the people involved in the contest and other things like that, "The fighting temptations" came to mind. Mainly because it starred Beyoncé Knowles, in what was a vehicle for her, because she promoted her songs and the camera focused her intentionally and constantly. Here, Andrea Corr is another stunning actress inside the ensemble, and if you don't know who she is, you'll enjoy her brilliant portrayal of a messed up teenager (she played a teenage girl with 29 years) who needs someone that guides her way.In comparison with "The fighting temptations", the ending here is different. It is what I was talking about Nicholas Adams' script, very sympathetic. Then the characters are real and we understand them. For example, John Joe says that Jimmy has no rhythm and when we see Jimmy playing alongside his band, his feet are totally out of time. Real are also the characters' personalities, that stick to them in all of their actions. So we laugh because of how stupid some characters are and the opportunities they miss because of the things they do. We get moved in the beautiful love story because we understand life can be like that sometimes and because the chemistry between the actors in undeniable.John Irvin directed passionately and correctly a movie that's for anyone. Anyone who likes music, anyone who likes love, anyone who appreciates family and I forgot, the ending...Probably the most awkwardly pleasant ending I've witnessed in a long time. You'll see what I'm talking about.

maeveo Yes, this movie is adorable...but I feel that a lot of that was just because it took place in Ireland. I'm a full blooded Irish and saw through it...It's easy to get swept away in soft accents, pints, and fiddle music.It seemed like the plot just sprung out of nowhere. Like, we were watching the movie for half an hour and then out of nowhere Anne pops up and is like "WHOS MY DADDY". There wasn't much character development so it was hard to really feel for any of the characters unless you were lulled into the Irish environment. Even if you're meant to read between the lines...there just should have been more. We barely knew anything about the characters and we were supposed to care about their pasts? Plus, for all of the praise Anne was getting for being such a great fiddler, the movie didn't highlight her playing at all. She didn't stand out in sound or in appearance from any of the other band members, other than just being pretty.But, I guess its sort of cute.

kolarsan1 A wonderful anti-dose to mainstream studio fare. This is a simple, but not simple-minded film that will make you laugh and cry. The performances are superb. Colm Meaney and Bernard Hill are a joy to watch, Charlotte Bradley delivers a masterful performance as the mother and Andrea Corr is a radiant presence. She is smart, direct and passioned. The contagious Ceili music will make you tap your foot long after the end of the film. You will come out of theater wanting to go to the nearest pub to have a pint of Guiness and hope to encounter there the characters from the film! What a wonderful treat this film delivers. Embrace it without any prejudice and you will experience a gentle and sweet ride.