“I’ve lived through many ages
Through the eyes of salmon, deer and wolf
I have seen the north men invading Ireland
destroying all in search of gold
I have seen suffering in the darkness
yet, I have seen beauty thrive in the most fragile of places
I have seen the book,
the book that turned darkness into light…”

 

These are the opening words to what is a most remarkable film – Tomm Moore’s The Secret of Kells. The Secret of Kells is no mere animated film…it is an illumination. Appropriately so for it is based upon the creation of what may be arguably called the single most beautiful work of human hands to ever have been created – the book of Kells. The book of Kells is a hand-written illuminated copy of the New Testament’s four Gospels completed by Celtic monks cica 800 ad and imbued with a strong Celtic sensibility literally woven throughout more tradition Christian iconography. It is widely considered to be the pinnacle of Ireland’s national treasures.

 

The story centres on the monastic community of Kells in Ireland during the age of the Viking raiders. The order has let its scriptorium (the place where the copying and illuminating was done by the monks) become a lesser priority as the abbot works the community feverishly to build high walls and a gate around the monastery. The task is ostensibly to keep out invading Vikings (north men as they are called in the movie) but it becomes apparent that the abbot is trying to protect and hide him and the monastery from the world.

 

Into the midst of this construction comes Brother Aiden, fleeing from the destruction of the abbey at Iona and bringing with him a brilliantly illuminated text he calls aptly called the book of Iona. Aiden befriends the abbot’s nephew, the young orphan Brendan (voiced brilliantly by Evan Mc Guire). We’re never told much of the back story of the abbot or Brendan but that works fine in this film and allows the imagination to contribute to the success of this compelling story.

 

Brother Aidan brings the book of Iona into the scriptorium of Kells in order to continue working on it and enlists the assistance of Brendan to secure for him some berries from elm trees in the forest. Brendan agrees though he has been forbidden from the forest and, in fact, has never left the abbey. As Brendan and Aidan’s cat Panger Bon (another refugee from Iona) wander into the forest they get predictably lost (although this does not diminish the film at all) and meet the apparently young girl Aisling (pronounced Ashlyn and voiced fabulously by Christen Mooney) who is a forest spirit of some sort and who’s voice is the one speaking the film’s opening words. It is at this point the tale takes off.

 

The film combines a powerful and provocative story with deep themes of light overcoming darkness, courage, friendship and struggle. There are clear Celtic pagan undercurrents to the film but in no way does one feel as though this story is an attempt to reassert a pagan paradigm over and above the Christian one which has developed in Ireland for more than a millennium. Rather there is a sense that the story is telling us a little about the subtle ways Celtic culture wound its way into Christianity. Some have been critical of the ancient church’s attempts to co-opt pagan culture but with Ireland it seems a little more like the Celtic in some way inspired a deeper and more thoughtful Christian spirituality than can be found elsewhere. To this day more than a thousand years after its construction the monastery at Iona continues to offer Christian’s a place for deep spiritual contemplation and renewal. I am not suggesting the film presents a kind of syncretism whereby Christianity and Celtic paganism combined to create something new. Rather in the spirit of C.S. Lewis who spoke of “shards of God’s truth” being found throughout creation we see a beautiful and nuanced Celtic informing of Christianity that would help it see its faith in some brilliant and remarkable ways (the symbol of the infinite God in the unending Celtic knotwork; the Trinity as seen in the shamrock and the trefoil interweaving Celtic designs etc). Most striking one cannot avoid the comment spoken as voiceover in the beginning of the film by Aislyn when she says “I have seen the book, the book that turned darkness into light…” There is also another message that comes out hinting that the book (whether the book of Kells specifically or the more broadly Bible we’re not sure…perhaps both) “was never meant to be hidden away behind a wall, locked away from the world which inspired its creation…you must take the book to the people so that they may have hope, let it light the way in these dark days…”

 

 Your ears will be treated to some absolutely amazing Celtic music (Aisling’s song is sung with a beautiful innocence) as well as Medieval Latin hymning and of course, most importantly, incredible visuals. The film is animated in what is becoming known as “the old style” of 2D hand drawing and inking (although there are times when you can see CG was used). Done by Cartoon Saloon based out of Kilkenny, Ireland the style of animation is stunning and quite frankly required given that the story is really about a hand illuminated work of art. The Secret of Kells is refreshing in an age where most animated films are moving toward CG and 3D (except for some notable brilliant anime films from Hayao Mitazaki’s Studio Ghibli and other exceptions like Disney’s recent The Princess and the Frog).

 

As much as the story is riveting it is the animation that is really the main character and keeps one riveted to the screen. Clearly heavily influenced by the book itself there is also heavy Celtic influence apparent as well as Norse. The animation style and colour changes as the mood of the film changes and in many instances it is almost as though you are peering into an illuminated work of art rather than watching a movie. There is an amazing scene in which Brendan, Brother Aidan and Panger Bon are fleeing and the animators chose to present them as though they were moving through a triptych (three paneled picture). This technique also allows for a very creative showing of the passage of time. At other times the action is framed as though moving on the pages of a book. The animators fill the edges of the frame with smaller moving images reminiscent of illuminator’s work both rough and finished in nature and while some might consider this a distraction it works very well with the overall feel of the movie.

 

Overall the film is one of the greatest animated features I have ever watched and, as much as I appreciated (loved really) the movie Up from Pixar, The Secret of Kells should have won the academy award for best animated feature film. You will want to watch this film over and over again on your own, with friends or with family because it is simply spellbinding.