By Marc Bauer
Cinema is no stranger to films about the creation of art. We’ve seen the subject matter vary wildly and in style. There have been films about food (Ratatouille, Big Night) , about music (Amadeus, Mr. Holland’s Opus), about writing; both of books (Wonder Boys, The Shining) and of plays (Shakespeare in Love, The Producers). There have been movies about artists that cover the range from revered (The Agony and The Ecstasy, Lust for Life) to the recent (Pollock, Basquiat) and the irreverent (American Splendor, Crumb). We’ve experienced movies about making movies, done both serious (Sullivan’s Travels, Ed Wood) and comedic (Be Kind Rewind, Son of Rambow). There are even films about creating animation (Frank and Ollie, Waking Sleeping Beauty). Yet, for all the myriad mentions of creation as the story devise, I cannot recall a single film about the making of an illuminated manuscript; until now.
The Secret of Kells is that movie; a film that delves into the creation of the Book of Kells. The Book of Kells is one of the most famous Illuminated Manuscripts, and the most celebrated example of Insular Art. The book itself is something mere words cannot describe, which in a way, is fortuitous. If words were tools capable of the task of describing this book, perhaps The Secret of Kells would not have been made. The film itself, with the use of visual vocabulary, attempts to describe the book, but truly focuses more on the story surrounding its creation.
The story is centered on a small Irish village named Kells, The Abbot (voiced be Brendan Gleason) tasked with protecting the village, his nephew Brendan (voiced be new comer Evan McGuire) and a Master Illuminator Aiden (voiced by Irish Actor Mick Lally). Aiden arrives to Kells , escaping capture by Viking enemies, and settles in to work on the manuscript through the winter. Seeing young Brendan and his interest in illumination, he soon tasks the boy in assisting him, to the chagrin of the Abbot. While on his travels to fulfill the tasks, Brendan encounters some minor obstacles and allies, all out of Irish folklore.
The story is that of a classic faerie tale, it is a simple tale that isn’t burdened with layers of secondary stories, filler scenes and musical numbers; this is both good and bad. The good aspects of this film FAR outweigh the negative. The story hits the ground, stumbles a bit, but takes off in at a good clip. The brief falter at the beginning is easily dismissed once the story takes stride, and by the twenty minute mark, roughly a third of the way into the movie, you’ve already forgotten about the misstep. The same thing that is a positive, is also negative; without the additional layers we’ve grown accustomed to in so many animated films, the film is almost short. You leave the viewing wanting more.
The simplicity of the story is the perfect delivery for the visuals. The Insular artwork is highlighted fabulously throughout the film. The famous Celtic knot work is used to perfection, dancing and wending around the screen with whimsy. The character design is worth noting. The lack of heavy lines framing the character seem to exist within the visual vocabulary of Genndy Tartakovsky, best known for Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls and Samurai Jack. While not unique, it is a wonderful use of style; by not outlining the characters, they don’t stand apart from, but instead as part of the world they inhabit. Similar to the Illuminated Manuscript they are working on, they exist as part of the story they tell. It is also a traditional, hand-drawn animated film, a style used less and less frequently these days. The images are so elaborate; it is easy to forget that nothing is done by computer.
The voices of the characters of Abbot and Aiden are nothing special, Irish actors with comforting brogues; it is the unknown providing the voice of Brendan that shines. Evan McGuire brings to the character a sense of wonderment and naïveté that you feel. Every time he experiences something new, it is as if you are experiencing it with him for the first time.
The negatives in this film are few, if any. The brevity of the film is the biggest qualm I have with the movie. At seventy-five minutes, inclusive of credits, it is on the short side. The film assumes a familiarity with Irish folklore, and no explanation is given for some of the creatures you see, but it doesn’t detract. In fact, it leaves the uninitiated curious to learn more about Irish folklore.
As an animated film, many will assume it is a children’s movie, and won’t give it the fair consideration it deserves. While children will enjoy it, our own inner child will be filled with the amazement that cinema so rarely delivers. You owe it to yourself to watch this film.
This looks and sounds interesting. I wonder though, if the length, as you express, just might be enough.
Everyone is extending their movies to extend time lines, many longer than they should………..
I enjoyed 9, but thought it was drawn out too long. A little more editing would have gone a long way to making it better than it was.
Will look for this one. If it doesn’t make it here, will wait for it’s home release.
Thanks and Cheers!
Good point Michael, and even Marc in his predominantly favorable assessment, admits if anything, the film is too short. I hope it gets over to you in the near future. I hope to see it myself before the weekend expires if possible.
Yes, Marc I do owe it to myself and to my family to get this seen ASAP. I tried last night, but was foiled by the unusual failure to secure a parking space near the IFC, and had to instead opt for the Swedish film, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATOO at the IFC. I wanted to be able to inform Marc’s exceptional, effusively appreciative appraisal with the amunition I needed, but alas, this film has eluded me to this point.
I found this passage particularly fascinating:
“The simplicity of the story is the perfect delivery for the visuals. The Insular artwork is highlighted fabulously throughout the film. The famous Celtic knot work is used to perfection, dancing and wending around the screen with whimsy. The character design is worth noting. The lack of heavy lines framing the character seem to exist within the visual vocabulary of Genndy Tartakovsky, best known for Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls and Samurai Jack. While not unique, it is a wonderful use of style; by not outlining the characters, they don’t stand apart from, but instead as part of the world they inhabit.”
The entire canvas in fact has me more than intrigued. Marc, that opening paragraphy, chronicling cinematic transcription of artistic subjects is superlative. I am also think here of Greenaway’s THE PILLOW BOOK to fit into those parameters.
I hope to see KELLS before the weekend is out, in which case I will return here!
Interesting. Haven’t even heard of this film. However, Mr. Bauers enthusiasm for the movie and the art that makes it up is infectious. Like Marc, animation is a favorite of mine and, particularly, when different ethnic forms are used in its creation. I’m very interested to know if. This film is playing in theatres or if its a VIDEO/DVD ONLY title. Please tell……
Dennis, you may not have seen my comment above. It is playing in Manhattan in a few locations, and I nearly was able to see it last night, but was unable to secure a parking space in that congested downtown area. I hope to see it tomorrow, as I have another film GREENBERG lined up for tonight. I know animation is as specialty of Marc’s, and of your’s too.
I have read some great reviews on this film, and I can now add Mr. Bauer’s engrossing essay to the group. What seems to me most exciting of all, if a bit of a relief is that this is an accomplishment achieved without the complicity of the computer.
I’d be curious to know if Marc thinks this a stronger animated entry than either ‘Up’ or ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox.’ It seems he is implying that with this enthusiastic review.
This was the little film that could. I didn’t mention it in my review, and I feel I was remiss in not mentioning the fact that this was the underdog nominee for best animated picture. As Dennis said, he hadn’t even heard of the film, which should demonstrate how small of a distribution it had. It only recently opened at locally at IFC, and NY is usually a market that has films early for Oscar consideration. I reviewed the film since it is one of the movies that unfortunately has had a small audience, but deserves to be seen.
Joe, I am a HUGE fan of Pixar, and I feel that they can do no wrong. I though Up was truly sublime, one of my favorite pictures of the year, even after paying close attention to the story of the movie: An elderly man and a child he essentially kidnapped and violated the Mann act with, travel to South America. While there they find a man that has been on a scientific exploration to repair his tarnished reputation for years. They find the creature he’s been searching for; which is ultimately lured into boarding his ship. They attempt to rescue it, in the process violently killing the old man by dropping him from a dirigible. They then keep the airship to travel home with, never needing to justify the murder or theft of the man’s belongings to world writ large.
I felt Fantastic Mr. Fox was enjoyable, but the weakest of the Wes Anderson pictures, and another disappointing adaptation of a book I loved as a child. (Where the Wild Things being the other.) While it told the story, it failed to look pretty, and I was distracted by the very things designed to make it look charming. The inconsistent motion of the fur, and it was disturbing looking into the cold dead of eyes of a taxidermy shop that was forced to do unnatural things.
Hi! Sam Juliano, Allan and WitD readers,
This Animated Feature Film…Sounds Like A Very Interesting Film. Along With…
“Coraline”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“The Princess and the Frog” and “Up”…
…I Plan To Seek Them All Out To Watch…Soon! (It’s simply amazing that of the five nominated films this film is the only one that I wasn’t familiar with or never even heard of, (Well, that was until I covered the Oscar@) but with that aside…
…I wonder if there is a book…in order to “fill” in what was left unsaid, in the short (75 minutes) animated feature.
Nice review!
DeeDee
I found the Book of Kells incredibly rewarding for one very simple reason: the animation itself plays such a strong role in the story. This might sound obvious, but contrast it with “Up”, where the animation style could have been used to tell any story at all. Book of Kells is utterly distinctive – while it draws on a tradition of childrens cartoons and Irish design, it didn’t look like anything else I watched in the last year. The simplicity of the story I found disappointing but never boring; it’s definitely a childrens’ movie, but you’d have to have a very hard heart to think that counted against it!
The art direction of this movie was better than any of the other nominated films. It’d be nice to see Pixar get ousted once in a while. Their films are fantastic but honestly I thought Ponyo should have at least been nominated (although maybe it qualifies for next years Oscars.) It is sad to see Disney lose almost all of it’s vigor and spirit that it used to have. Their attempt at going back to 2D cell based stuff was sort of a flop. Sadly 3D and computers will permeate the animated arena and we will lose out on some truly imaginative artists due to this.