The world of cinema, but more importantly the American view of it, has always had an immense love of the "surprise film"; the films that come out of foreign countries that shock and amaze viewing publics with their tantalizing visual imagery, that breaks new ground in what can be achieved. One such recent film to do so did even further damage to people's senses; When the Oscar nominations were announced for this year, one of the biggest wake-up calls was the inclusion of THE SECRET OF KELLS as a contender in the Best Animated Film race. This small, unknown Irish film knocked off Hayao Miyazaki and the other mediocre entries produced by Hollywood to be considered worthy of a mention.
THE SECRET OF KELLS is a visual spectacle and a great advancement of animation, but it also feels like a flamboyant parade of the optic nerves, a giant spot-fest of extroverted indulgences. There is nothing very wrong with including this in the genre of animation, a genre engulfed with many highly stylish entries, but THE SECRET OF KELLS could have used something breathing room, especially since the film machine-guns through its art and plot to a 73 minute running time.
The plot is very rich in Irish culture and arts, a wise decision both for its own Irish audience and the foreign market. This film is already a good eye-opener with its style, the substance should have it as well. In the heavily barricaded town of Kells, a young boy named Brendan is in the middle of a power struggle. He dotes under his uncle, the Abbot, in preparing the protection of the town from invading viking hordes. But Brendan is fascinated in the works of scripters, and the protection of the arts. When a master illustrator come into town, the man and his eccentric cat take a liking to the boy and sets him up to be the next writer and keeper of the Book of Iona, a sacred book that has the power to vanquish darkness. While doing errands for the man, he ventures outside the walls for the first time and becomes friends with a mysterious fairy girl, Aisling. The constant pushing of his two elders and the magical world outside brings Brendan to choose his destiny wisely before the arrival of the hordes.
Though it can be suffocating at first with the cavalcade of distinctive imagery, the film does start to ease and become more accepting once the destiny of the protagonist is settled on. The inventiveness of the animation comes out in great stride, as the fields of depth and perception are constantly shifted and played with. The staging becomes exhilarating, especially as it cooperates with its sound design to make a pleasurable experience. Once such instance is a sequence where the protagonist is in a battle with a malicious spirit in what can be described as a magical plane of water. But the true beauty comes when the animation of the illustrations created by Brendan come closer to our own eyes.
Still, this always new and exciting direction does lead to faults in the film. Because of all the grandeur, several scenes have limited movement or whole animation cycles are repeated again. This is jarring to behold, but not in a good way. Also, the tonal shift towards the end is an unwanted surprise. What was once a film with bold comedy and artwork now suddenly grows dark and depressing. I generally liked these vicious scenes more, but it might ruffle the feathers of others and some children. But what makes this gear-shift more striking and confusing is that the film ends right after this. We are treated to a brief coda and then the credits. I do not know if this was the conclusion wanted by the creators but I wanted something other than this off-putting finale. I wanted to see more of the power and beauty of the book and its use in the world rather than have the energy and budget go into the opening goose chase.
Though it has some problems, THE SECRET OF KELLS is still a very great addition both to the animation world and the film history of Ireland. The resourcefulness of its style and unconventional storytelling is to be commended. If it just worked the animation and the story in a more parallel manner, it could have totally justified its demand to be nothing more than a masterpiece. As it is right now, the film falls just short, but still a great escapade.
FINAL REVIEW: 4 / 5
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