10 Best Indie Movies Of 2016 (So Far)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

In just three movies, Irish filmmaker John Carney has established himself as the master of the modern musical. The director of Once and Begin Again this time takes us back to 1980s Dublin, where 14-year-old Conor - who prefers to go by Cosmo and is played brilliantly by debutant Ferdia Walsh-Peelo - is having trouble settling in to his new inner-city school.

The only thing good about the place is the mysterious Raphina, whom Cosmo aims to impress by asking her if she would like to star in his band's music video, even though he doesn't actually have a band. When she unexpectedly agrees, Cosmo is forced to hastily assemble a group of his peers, and the music they create is what Sing Street is all about.

As demonstrated in his previous two features, Carney has an uncanny ability to tell a story through song, though the 80s setting and the younger cast allow him to take a slightly different tact to his previous musicals. He takes his tried and tested formula and adds a coming-of-age angle, and the result is a film brimming with nostalgia that is guaranteed to lift your spirits, regardless of musical taste.

While the premise might come across as unremarkable, Sing Street has as much to say about the dispiriting reality of the day as it does about youthful fantasy, and while it is indeed a love story, the true romance here is between a gifted director and his music.