The Academy Award nomination for The Secret of Kells hints at the film’s brilliance. That recognition came as a major surprise as the film was only seen by a handful of people in LA & NY when it qualified for a possible Oscar nomination. It did not open nationally until this March, but thanks to a grassroots campaign by people who have seen it, and I’m one of them, word is spreading that the film is quite extraordinary. The Secret of Kells is a wonderful film experience. It has a unique look that might be called Irish or Celtic modern, and a compelling well-told story that is as charming as it is exciting. Moreover the story seems quite real as opposed to the elaborate tall tales Hollywood invents.
As for the look, imagine the flat abstractions of nature found in Celtic manuscripts and jewelry coming alive on the screen. The film has a design that sets it apart from art from other parts of the world. It is as distinctive looking as Persian miniatures or traditional Japanese block prints.
Buy The Secret of Kells. A young monk whose life is changed forever when he is initiated into the secrets of the Book of Kells and. Amazon Tickets Music. Right health AP States life least 1 ago might come. Vellithira Film Songs Mp3 Free Download. Ronald gear download Milwaukee pressed. Read all the hottest movie news. Get all the latest updates on your.
The look is rich and varied including intricate backgrounds that are sometimes quite stunning. Not only is the film’s bold look pleasing to the eyes, the captivating story will warm your heart. I certainly believed in the innocent boy’s quest to find the right berries in the dark forest. Thermal Design And Optimization Adrian Bejan Pdf Editor more. They are needed to create a magnificent color that will allow a great artist to complete a sacred manuscript. It is easy to believe this book is necessary for the preservation of the Celtic culture and that it has to be finished and protected from the invading hordes of barbarians from the north. What happens in the forest is the beginning of a fantastic experience.
The film’s simple plot and premise is based on facts; such illuminated medieval manuscripts do exist including the “Book of Kells” (Dublin, Trinity College Library, ca. 800 AD) and the hordes that are sacking villages in the film may be the Vikings that invaded Ireland. This plot also seems very real; most people know that people in the Holly Lands once made great efforts to preserve their culture and beliefs from invaders. The rediscovered Dead Sea Scrolls are an example of this. The story may be fiction, but in your minds you care and emphasize with those who are living a simple peaceful life. Their innocence is a far cry from the complex worlds and plots that Hollywood creates in films like Princess and the Frog, Shrek or Monsters Vs Aliens.While the Hollywood features are often delightful entertainment, you probably leave feeling the film was a lot of fun, and rarely think about any greater meaning or message. On the other hand while you may leave Kells with a sense of joy, you may also leave feeling the movie gives you a realistic experience of what life was like in the Middle Ages and with a belief in the goodness of the peasants and monks who lived a simple agrarian life in their rural walled village.
Part of the success of Kells is its use of universal themes. Preserving culture is important, but the film is careful not to spell out specifics that might limit its audience. Although you probably know more or less what kind of book is being created, I don’t believe there are mentions of a specific religion or what the book’s text is. Also, the warriors are not from a specific place and are faceless, abstract images representing evil. They become symbols of all destroyers of what is good. Another interesting deviation from a Hollywood blockbuster is the director’s use of economy of images in the battle scenes.
Unlike a Star Wars battle there are no wide-angle shots showing hundreds of helmeted warriors slaughtering peasants. By using simple symbolic shapes, close-ups, fast cuts, split screen shots and an effective sound design, the feeling of fighting and destruction is just as real as what George Lucas can create on a grand scale. In art school instructors sometimes talk about less is more. That becomes part of this film’s charm; that so much can be created with the films distinctive economical style. The results were a rich, totally satisfying film experience for me. An Interview with The Secret of Kells director Tomm Mooore Karl Cohen: What inspired the film’s style and story? Tomm Moore: The film began development back in 1999.
Some friends in college and I were inspired by Richard Williams unfinished masterpiece “The Thief and the Cobbler” and the Disney movie Mulan, which took indigenous traditional art as the starting point for a beautiful style of 2D animation. I felt that something similar could be done with Irish art, especially the beautiful tradition of Celtic knotwork that is so popular today. The idea was to look at “The Book of Kells” and medieval art in general and to try and translate that into a style that would suit 2D animation. Something uniquely Irish, but drawing on the traditions of American and Japanese animation. I guess the story surrounding “The Book of Kells” made perfect sense as a hook, and I began to look at the legends and history surrounding it. We knew there was a movie in there, even if it seemed unlikely at first glance.