The Secret of Kells (2009)

Director: Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey

IMDB Page

Score: 9/10

A Film Worthy of its Subject

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, which falls on this week, I’d like to do a retrospective review of a movie that sincerely changed my outlook on movies.  Frankly, I can’t even remember how my wife and I first heard about the Secret of Kells.  I think it may have been due to following the Oscar nominations at the end of the year, but The Secret of Kells flew pretty much under the radars of everyone.  It garnered quite a bit of acclaim in international circles, but wasn’t a name anyone on the street knew of.

Their loss, I suppose.  The Secret of Kells is a masterwork, and for a first-time directorial effort, Tomm Moore found a way to bring Celtic tradition and history to life in the most spellbinding way I’d ever seen, and it stands out to this day, surpassed only by his follow-up in this last year, Song of the Sea.

Kells is, without hyperbole, one of the most beautiful hand-animated features ever made, which is fitting, considering how it pays homage to one of the most detailed, exhaustive, and magnificent examples of iconography in history, the Book of Kells.  Indeed, this picture presents a fictionalized history for the book, following its arrival and subsequent completion at the Abbey of Kells, in Ireland.

Our story follows Brendan (voiced by the young Evan McGuire) as he learns not only about the world outside the walls of his city, but about the mingling of druidic influence with the deep and profound Christian ethic that buoyed up the Celts, even as they were under threat from the pagan Norse.  Very few movies have ever treated religion and iconography with such honest and gentle motions.  It’s so easy to make these sorts of films to be hackneyed and ham-fisted, trying to fight on behalf of that which speaks for itself.  Instead, much like the real-life illuminators who created the greatest national treasure Ireland has, the movie simply presents pure, bare-faced faith, and really couldn’t care less about whether or not you accept the truths inside.

Religious motives aside, Kells isn’t about trying to advance anything.  At it’s heart, it’s about the preservation and presentation of history, of culture, and of national lore.  It’s a film created out of deep, abiding love and pride in Irish nationality.

If Kells has a weak point, it’s in how little it explains.  The iconography tells more than the plot does, and this film really needs two or three views to catch the details that help guide you through the plot.  Moore clearly learned more about how to get his stories across by the time Song of the Sea came to creation, but it’s easy to see flashes of his narrative genius here, as well.  Kells is a story told almost entirely through its visuals, which defy description.  The simple, almost cubist style defies every convention of animation the Western and Eastern traditions have, using surreal shifts in perspective, color, and stylization to underpin the story so effectively, Kells almost would have worked without any speech at all.

Honestly, this movie just needs to be seen, if for no other reason than to experience the visual excellence.

Scores (out of 10)

Acting: 8

Story: 6

Visuals: 10

Sound: 7

Enjoyment: 9

Overall Score: 9/10

Song of the Sea (2014)

Director: Tomm Moore

IMDB Page

Score: 10/10

One Of The Best Animated Features Of All Time

I guess the title kind of gives it away, doesn't it? Still, I'm not one who's given to hyperbole when describing movies, and I'm enough of a critic that I want to nitpick to insane degrees from time to time, but I just can't do it with Song of the Sea. There's just nothing to point out.

This movie is from the same studio that brought us The Secret of Kells (2009), an almost beguilingly charming movie that brought together elements of Druidic myth, passionate Christian faith, history, and Celtic grandeur in a way that I don't think anyone had ever really seen before. When a studio with such a good first effort under their belt takes five years to come out with a second film, you can bet that it's because they're doing something magical.

The only real comparison that's able to be drawn is to the work of Hayao Miyazaki, simply because there's not another animated filmmaker out there who's as honest and earnest with their culture's folklore to compare to. Where Miyazaki-san's work is steeped in spiritual fantasy and a love for his home country not really seen since the Romantic movement, Tomm Moore is a bit more grounded in Western storytelling and keeps his myths well interacted with daily life. His stories are a whimsical blend of magic and the mundane, and it's all carried so well that you wish it could all be true.

The story of Saoirse and her brother Ben is cut from the classic Hero's Journey so closely that you can practically see Joseph Campbell's fingerprints on the screen. In the back of my mind, I was pointing out each and every plot point as it went by, like an eager sightseer out the side of a tour bus. While the story is formulaic, sure, it's executed brilliantly and engagingly. As we so often forget; Tropes Are Not Bad. It's fantastic to see the tools of storytelling so perfectly implemented. It's like watching a master painter or musician craft their art.

Speaking of which, Song of the Sea doesn't lack for anything in the artistic departments. The visuals are jaw-droppingly beautiful, simplistic in design, true to the Celtic roots of the story, and should almost be listed as a character in and of themselves. This story simply couldn't have been told as well with a different art crew, the dynamic is so tied into the feel and flow of the tale. The score is, similarly, simplistic and heartfelt. It doesn't overshadow anything. There's no bombast or leitmotif to be found, but the music is so integral to the plot that you can't imagine the movie without it. Or not even with more of it, the balance is so fine.

And to cap it all off, the voice acting is absolutely brilliant. This is what I long to hear, a return to the days when people were matched to roles that they could play, not a parade of Hollywood "talent" who tries to buy viewers with recognition and star power. Song of the Sea is loaded with people who can actually act in their voices alone, and from the adults straight down to the child actors who play the roles of the protagonist pair, every one is a standout.

Honestly, I haven't seen an animated film this heartfelt and earnest since The Lion King, which is probably one of the last times that a studio really just threw their cards on the table and said "let's see what we can really do to tell a story". Song of the Sea hasn't and won't gross well at the box office by Hollywood standards—which is a true shame, because I can't think of a film from 2014 that more deserves to be seen.

Scores (out of 10)

Acting: 10

Story: 10

Visuals: 10

Sound: 10

Enjoyment: 10

Overall Score: 10/10