Chris Dell'Isola is a student at Concord High School who loves movie. Because he's really nice, he agreed to write movie reviews.
This is a very hard film to describe. I walked in having no idea what it was about and afterwards I'm still not sure. “The Secret of Kells” is an animated film from Ireland. It was recently nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars.
In a nutshell, the village of Kells is going to be attacked by a group of Viking raiders. Abbot Cellach works day and night to build a wall to protect the town. Meanwhile, his young adventurous nephew Brendan sneaks outside the town every night to visit the forbidden forest to obtain berries to make ink for the legendary illustrator Brother Aidan. Brother Aidan comes to Kells to finish the a book he had been working on, before his monastery was destroyed by the same Vikings, now approaching Kells. Ultimately, this is the “Book of Kells.”
The film had a lot of plot holes that should have been filled and it felt a bit longer than it actually was. When it ended, I felt as though I missed something. The movie is visually stunning and the animation is beyond top notch – it's a shame that the story and script are not. The film as a whole is no “Up,” but it's good enough. I'd “Go with my friends” to this movie again.
“The Secret of Kells” is playing at Red River Theatres through April 22.
The Chris Dell'Isola rating system:
I’d stand in line on Christmas Day = A Masterpiece
I’d go with my friends = Just a lot of fun
I’d bring a date = Good but not great
Only if my mother made me take my little sister = I’ve seen better
I’d rather see a chick flick with my mother = Rubbish
