BOY MEETS GIRL. GIRL UNIMPRESSED. BOY STARTS BAND.

Dublin, 1985; young teenager Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) finds himself in a new, strict school and tries to start a pop band together with a bunch of other misfits.

After a trip to New York in Begin Again (2013), the reliable John Carney returns to Dublin for an immensely likable story about a fledgling Duran Duran-type band and the people who inspire a kid like Conor: a girl he falls for, and his older brother who uses music as an escape from his dull life. The band becomes professional seemingly overnight, but never mind; the movie has a lot of heart and a good cast of young talents.

Dedicated to brothers, and that part is touching as well.

2016-Ireland-U.K.-U.S. 106 min. Color. Widescreen. Written and directed by John Carney. Cast: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (Conor), Lucy Boynton (Raphina), Jack Reynor (Brendan), Maria Doyle Kennedy, Aidan Gillen, Kelly Thornton.

Trivia: Co-produced by Carney. Later a stage musical.

Last word: “It’s quite an autobiographical story. I did form a school band and it ticked a lot of boxes for me. It got the bullies off my back because my eccentricity was something I could turn around a bit. It got the teachers distracted from the fact that I was doing no work, at least I was doing something. It got my parents saying, ‘Well, he’s not a completely untalented guy.’ And I got the girl that I fancied.” (Carney, Screen Crush)