I have never been an Irish teenage boy. Especially not one who idolizes pop musicians and desperately longs to be one in hopes of securing the attention and affection of a pretty girl so they can run off together to create a brighter future far away from parents on the brink of divorce.

I have, though, been an American teen who idolized musicians and longed to be one — Barbra Streisand? Stevie Nicks? — in hopes of creating a brighter future far away from parents on the brink of divorce. Whether I secured the attention and affection of a cute guy or not.

Which is why SING STREET resonated deeply with me. Why it made my heart sing.

Writer and director John Carney (ONCE, BEGIN AGAIN) masterfully captured the intense feelings of adolescents — across the globe, throughout generations — who crave and voraciously...