IR: Secret of Kells

The Village of Kells is preparing for a siege by the merciless Vikings. The Abbot is obsessed with building a wall to keep them out; his young nephew Brendan, however, is more interested in what the scribes tell him of the great ‘Illuminator’ Aidan, and his supposedly magical Book…

Secret of Kells is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen.
The animation combines pitch-perfect story-book style characters with beautiful colour washes, and stylistic influences from everywhere. I was informed shortly before we went in to see it that it was based on Celtic mythology, so predictably there was quite heavy influence from there, but mixed in seamlessly were images from Art Deco, Mayan carvings, Chinese prints, African paintings, Scandinavian pottery and the art of Native Americans. But strangely what it spoke to me of more than anything was the art of the Aborigines, not just in actual imagery but in the way the film attempts to catch what something IS, the soul of it, rather than simply what it looks like. Everything is done with such inventiveness and imagination, a kaleidoscope of amazing clarity, intensity and purity. There were times where I began crying simply because of the beauty of the images I was looking at.
However, even this wonderful form could not survive without a good story…thankfully, the Secret of Kells has one. It is not in a conventional three act structure, but rather like a recounted legend. The themes that run through it, particularly those related to the power of writing and image making itself, are very strong. ‘The Book’, the mysterious and beautiful tome which the protagonist, Brendan, is fascinated with, is never named as a particular holy book or text. Although the real-life book is apparently the four gospels, in the film the Book is emblematic of the importance of written knowledge as a whole.
Also the spirit-girl Brendan befriends, Aisling (pronounced Ashleen) remains unknowable to the last and her relationship to the forest surrounding Brendan’s village avoids turning into a tedious and predictable man vs. nature subplot.
The film captures perfectly that difficult transition period from paganism to Christianity (although again the religion, despite having an Abbot, is never named).
Add to all this some very fun moments, a cute cat and some terrifying baddies in the shape of balrog-like Norsemen, and you have a pretty damn near perfect film.
Besides which, how can I not approve of a film whose director practically shares my young brother’s name?

5/5

Beautifully illustrated film, so much pattern and texture crammed into each frame, watercolour pools of hue and harsh ink claws. This story is all about the importance of art and it does itself justice. I really admire the style and ingenuity and constant creation, the never-ending forest and the myriad levels to the oak tree in particular. Everything is beautifully drawn and animated and even a humble bush is a well-thought out pattern of twigs and berries and leaves. The one art thing I didn’t receive so easily were the glowing ‘symbols’… they seemed out of touch with the rest of the art style and out of place like they were microscopic simple life forms, which kind of makes sense with the magnifying crystal and the spirits etc etc but still felt too futuristic. Also when he held the crystal to his eye it wobbled like a fried egg, which just looked like a cheap cartoon effect. But I did like the demon snake being like in the game ‘centipede’, and eating its own tail, even though it was glowing like the symbols.
The story felt very sad and made me tear up at one point, though it is very heart warming in places too. All of the characters were charming (save the baddies) and made me feel for their circumstance, just trying to live their lives but always in fear of the attackers. The final part was a bit lighter, with Main Boy coming back as Jesus, which was fun. The girl’s voice was annoying at first, but then it felt fitting as she spoke more and was more natural. It was a bit weird when she started singing out of the blue though, but I can forgive her because it was pretty nice in the end.
That’s all I have to say really. A touching story about a boy who does what he has to do to be brave and do the right thing, and his uncle who loves him very much but doesn’t quite get him. Sorry for all the spoilers but I would definitely recommend it!

5/5