A father so hollowed by his wife’s disappearance that he remains emotionally distant from his children, particularly Ben, who is desperate for his father's attention.

The film’s central conflict is not a traditional battle between good and evil, but a struggle against the . This is embodied by two parallel characters:

A mythological reflection of Conor’s mother (Ben's granny), who turns suffering creatures into stone. Macha believes that by removing emotions—the "bad" feelings of pain and loss—she is protecting her son, Mac Lir, from misery. Grief, Myth, and Music in Tomm Moore's Song of the Sea