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Title: The Secret of Kells
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| CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents, though not rated it's safe to assume this has only some PG-rated scary moments. Suitable for most kids. Recommended for ages 8 and up. |
Chances are if you were watching this years Academy Awards when the Best Animated Feature category came up you - like the rest of the world - were completely unsurprised that Pixar’s “Up” walked away with the statue. However like the rest of the world you were likely confused when the category nominated a film called “The Secret of Kells,” a film virtually no one had heard of. I’ll admit if I wasn’t as deep into the movie industry as I am I probably wouldn’t have heard of it either. That said while I heard of it I still didn’t know what it was about or where it really came from. Turns out it was a co production between France, Ireland, and Belgium, though it was recorded in English in preparation for an American release.
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This small film about a young boy named Brendan features no big name voice talent, a minimal marketing budget at best, yet it oozes with imagination and heart. The story involves Brendan living in a small colony that is building a wall in preparation from an attack from a group of monsters that have been attacking other villages. Brendan’s uncle Abbot rules this colony with a firm grip and wants Brendan to one day follow in his footsteps. This is until an old book illustrator named Brother Aiden comes to town and shows him the wonder of art. Though the film always looks good this is where it starts looking great.
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Sadly, I’m not entirely sure if there’s a point to all this. The movie ends rather abruptly and the storyline is shaky at times. From what I can gather this is a loose telling of the writing of the real Book of Kells, which contains four gospels of the New Testament. The movie is filled with Catholic and Christianity inspired artwork and even looks like a children’s Bible storybook most of the time. The colors are vibrant and lush, and the images are striking and unlikely to be forgotten anytime soon. Though great visuals can’t help a movie with a lacking story “The Secret of Kells”makes up for this with it’s characters.
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All the characters and likable and distinct. Most notably Aisling, a little girl who lives in the forest and may be a fairy. She moves like a quick snake and has the smile of an innocent child, and instantly she becomes the most likable character in the movie. Such an impression she makes on the audience that even the distributer is using her as the face of this movie despite the fact that she appears in less then 15 minutes of the whole film. This film is being released a couple of months after the Academy Awards and after all the confusion behind the surprise Oscar nomination. This means there is a good chance people will want to seek this film out.
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Hopefully it finds an audience. This is a great family film that is marvelous to look at and inspires the imaginations. The movie is being released without a rating, but I think it’s safe to say this would be rated PG and that most kids can handle it. They may even thank you for taking them to see something that gives them things to really appreciate rather then fart jokes and burping. If you are an artist seeing this feels like a requirement, as it shows that great art can come from small budgets. Again, I hope this movie finds an audience, whether it be families, art lovers, or people who just love entertaining movies. If not, then I guess there’s always BluRay.
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