The Secret of Kells

Ah, what a beautiful film.

The Secret of Kells centers on Brendan, a young monk in Kells, an Irish monastery and fortress against the invading Norsemen.  The abbot cares about one thing: building a wall big enough and strong enough to keep the Norse at bay.  Yes, there’s a scriptorium, but that seems almost an afterthought.  The illustrators there are workingmen.  They await the coming of a true master.

When one arrives, fleeing the Norse who’ve overrun his island monastery and bearing an illuminated manuscript that will one day become the (real life) Book of Kells, Brendan goes right to him.  What, after all, is the point of a monastery that ignores things monastic?

Ok, so there’s your hook.  But the secret of The Secret of Kells lies not in the story but in the presentation.  Its animation feels like illumination, with an overlapping 2-D style reminiscent of Sita Sings The Blues.  It weaves designs of Celtic symbology with Latin influences and brings to life many of the motifs of both.

This is a beautiful, imaginative film – the kind that, as a father, I’ll be able to watch over and over again, seeing new things each time.  If you value quality animation, you’ll love this film.