Movie #31 The Secret of Kells

Great night tonight.  I snuck out of work after only 10 hours.  Pick up the kiddos and headed home.  Usually Tuesdays night are reserved for our house famous tacos.  Taco Tuesday as is has titled.  Tonight however I didn't feel like going to the grocery store so we made spaghetti.  The three of us all chipped in and made a wonderful diner with homemade sauce, and garlic cheesy bread.  It was delicious.  Again normally we watch reruns of The Office. That is unless it is American Idol time, then the whole schedule changes.  Tonight though there were baseball playoffs on instead of The Office.  I scanned the channels and there was nothing on.  I looked at my DVR'ed shows and there was barely a movie made after 1948 on there.  Now I much as I would have liked to sit and watch "The Third Man" or "The Big Sleep" or "His Girl Friday" I didn't think those would be a big hit with my tween daughters.

Then I remembered that I had added the 2009 animated Irish film "The Secret of Kells" to my Netflix queue.  This film was nominated for Best Animated Film at the 2010 Oscars.  I had heard great buzz about it and was waiting for an opportunity to watch it with the kids.  I really enjoyed it.

The story is that of a young monk living in a city where the Abbot is having a wall built around the city to protect it from the marauding vikings from the north.  The junior monk, Brendan, has never been outside the city walls.  The construction is interrupted by a visit from a monk named Adian.  He visits from a far away land that was destroyed by the vikings.  He carries with him a magical book that Brendan can not get his mind off of.  Where the Abbot who is also Brendan's uncle is a strict disciplinarian, Adian is older and encourages Brendan to explore and imagine.  Brendan sneaks out from the walls into the surrounding forest.  There he meets a young girl that may be a fairy. 

This film is a wonder to behold.  It was created using traditional animation.  Not computers.  The imagery and use of space in this movie is like nothing I can remember.  The story is totally original.  It felt like it could have been an ancient tale passed down through generations.  The skill of the animation as a tool to tell the story is where I was most impressed.  The scenes in the forest, the scenes were the threat of danger is discussed and the scene in the dark place are all so well executed.   It reminded me of the films of Studio Ghibli.  Think of the way Miyazaki uses space and time in an animated frame.  There are no limits.  The Secret of Kells is like an Irish version of that. 

The good news is that both kids seemed to enjoy the film.  I would say quite a bit more that the movie we watched the other day "Secretariat".  My youngest asked all kinds of questions after the film about how cartoons are made.  I also love it when a story (movie) talks about other storytellers.  It always feels so personal.  I gave The Secret of Kells 4/5 stars.  Check out the link below for the trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMPhHTtKZ8Q