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The Secret of Kells


The critical consensus

The Secret of Kells artfully makes a case for the value of art and reading, even if the story doesn’t really amount to much.

***(*)(*)Eddie Harrison, The List, 17/09/2010

Unfortunately the drama here is not as bold or enthralling as the draftsmanship.

***(*)(*)Siobhan Synnot, The Scotsman, 28/09/2010

Unlike anything else you’ve seen, and very much worth seeking out, this is a unique and beautiful creation.

*****Helen O'Hara, Empire Online

Hand-drawn and watercoloured, the animation is as sublime as a stained-glass window.

****(*)Ellen E Jones, Total Film, 27/09/2010

The highly stylised images – of a tumbling, tangled forest, ravening wolves, flights of black-as-night crows, shimmering snowscapes, the geometric lines of the advancing hordes – are all realised with a gorgeous intricacy.

****(*)Marc Lee, The Telegraph, 30/09/2010

This one may not have the driving narrative momentum audiences weaned on modern classics from Pixar and the like might expect, but its tale about a ginger-headed medieval monk-in-training called Brendan who embarks on a mission to gather the materials needed to write the illuminated bible, The Book of Kells, is enchanting in other ways.

****(*)Alistair Harkness, The Scotsman, 02/10/2010

Magical, funny, wholly lacking in po-faced piety, the movie incorporates elements of Irish mythology and is drawn in a flat, stylised fashion that derives from the art of the time.

Philip French, The Observer, 03/10/2010

The story wafts in too many different directions before dissipating altogether, but the film is still a treat, thanks to its stylised, kaleidoscopic artwork, which is like a cross between an Asterix book and a stained glass window. Don't keep it a secret.

Nicholas Barber, The Independent on Sunday, 03/10/2010

The colours fairly roar from the screen.

***(*)(*)Alison Rowat, The Herald, 14/10/2010

Where and when?

General release. Check local listings for show times.

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