AWARDS:
NOMINATION: 2010 Academy Awards USA: Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film
SYNOPSIS
This highly anticipated new animated masterpiece from the producers of KIRIKOU AND THE SORCERESS and TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE blends magic, fantasy and Celtic mythology together in a riot of color and detail that dazzle the eyes in this sweeping story about the power of imagination and faith to carry humanity through dark times. Young Brendan lives in a remote medieval outpost under siege from barbarian raids. But a new life of adventure beckons when a celebrated master illuminator arrives from foreign lands carrying an ancient but unfinished book, brimming with secret wisdom and powers. To help complete the magical book, Brendan has to overcome his deepest fears on a dangerous quest that takes him into the enchanted forest where mythical creatures hide. It is here that he meets the fairy Aisling, a mysterious young wolf-girl, who helps him along the way. But with the barbarians closing in, will Brendan's determination and artistic vision illuminate the darkness and show that enlightenment is the best fortification against evil?
REVIEW:
In 9th Century Ireland, the village of Kells builds walls to protect itself from the Norsemen who sweep over the island like a merciless wave. The abbot's nephew, Brendan (voice of Evan McGuire), is less interested in defense than in helping the other monks, charged with transcribing knowledge. The finest scribe, they say, is Brother Aidan (voice of Mick Lally), who coincidentally arrives at Kells with warning that the Vikings will not be far behind. Still, he remains set on completing his book, and sees Brendan as a potentially exceptional apprentice. When Brendan ventures into the forest to find berries with which to make ink, he upsets his uncle Cellach (voice of Brendan Gleeson), but also meets Aisling (voice of Christen Mooney), a spirit who lives there.
An early shot tells us a great deal about both the film's inspirations and the visual style to come: We see the wall around the village as a perfect circle, as if viewed from directly above, but the central tower points to the top of the screen as if shot from the ground. This sort of inconsistent perspective is common in the illuminated manuscripts that the monks create, and while director Tomm Moore only uses the device sparingly, it gives the film both an extra bit of period detail and sense of the fantastic. It's a welcome break from the relative sameness of digitally animated movies, which are not necessarily always concerned about realism, but how things look in three dimensions.
The characters are three-dimensional, though. Brendan is a nice, likable kid, guilty about how he deceives his uncle but unable to help how he is drawn to other things. Cellach is harsh and perhaps not suited to parenthood; both Gleeson's voice and the way the character is drawn (somehow managing to be both tall and thin and burly) tells us of a man suited for leadership but feeling its burden. The clash with Aidan is obvious; Aidan can transform from maddeningly optimistic to defeated in moments, cheerful with his ideals but clearly feeling the Norsemen are a force of nature that men cannot stand against. And then there's Aisling, rendered almost entirely in pale greens, with long hair and big eyes. She can become many things but we don't see her change, and even when yelling at or scolding Brendan, Christen Mooney gives her an otherworldly whisper.
The relationship between Brendan and Aisling is wonderful to watch; we know from her narration as the film opens that she has lived for centuries, although there are things that scare her. They are friends in the manner of children once they first meet, but their relationship changes over time; is it because this is Brendan's coming of age story, and as he becomes a man he thinks of magical creatures like Aisling differently, or because she represents the land itself, and her encounters with unnatural things (be they supernatural evil or human buildings) weakens her? Perhaps a little of both.
Moore and company are never overly focused on the coming-of-age or spirit-of-the-land elements, though; THE SECRET OF KELLS plays as a hugely entertaining family adventure. The Norsemen are fearsome villains, portrayed as their victims must have seen them, all horns and muscle and weapons. Another villain - "the dark one" - exists for Brendan to prove his mettle against, in a scene that is both thrilling and eye-popping. There's plenty of comic relief, too, with Aidan's silent but expressive cat commenting on the action around him, and nice banter between Aidan and Aisling. efilmcritic.com
