Review of The Secret of Kells (2009) by Eric B — 16 Jan 2011

This movie is truly one of a kind. There are no words adequate or intricate enough to fully explain this film either. At first sight the animation styles resemble those of Saruday-cartoons, completely flat, like figures in a medieval painting that have a achieved the ability to move, but have not fully stepped into the third dimension of reality.

The film is entirely lyrical in its visual lushness. Everything is pressed into a two-dimensional elegance; even mundane objects gain an unearthly beauty. Concrete shapes bend and distort until you are forced to perceive a world made of symbols and constantly morphing shapes.

The music is an essential force in this highly stylized world. More story is told in the dialogue free sequences when the music and color pallet take over creating some of the movies best scenes. The story telling is so profound and moving that, without even showing one drop of blood, the audience becomes gripped with fright.

This is a movie that leaves the audience staring at the screen long after the film has ended, attempting to fathom what they have just seen and why they feel the way they do.