http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0485601/

Wow this movie came out of nowhere. I remember it being nominated for an Oscar, but I don't remember it coming out. Let's start with the best part of the film which is the animation. This is what I miss in animated movies. A sense of real beauty and styl e. We have been flooded with CGI animation movies which all look the same. Even Pixar's films start to blur together visually after a while. They look nice and realistic, but they have no beauty. It has been a while since an animated movie has actually fascinated me with it's visuals. The visuals in this film look a bit like Samurai jack, but much smoother and more vivid. I could write pages about how much I loved the animation. The viking attack on kells, and the underwater snake battle especially are breathtaking. but let's move on. The story is quite interesting too. The film takes place in a small village called Kells where the abbot Cellach is building a large wall to protect everyone from the invading vikings. He takes care of his nephew Brendan. One day an old man comes the village with a mystic and powerful book that is said to blind sinner who read it. Brendan ends up helping the old man write the book.

Quick side note, the book this film is based on is The Book of Kells. It is an illustrated manuscript of the first four gospels of the New Testament. Even if you are not religous I urge you to find a copy. It really is quite a beautiful book. Some of the drawings are wonderfullly complex. I am not religious in the slightest but I loved the Book of Kells. The story is deeply rooted in Celtic myths, which do happen to be religious at times. Don't let that turn you off the film though. The story is still enjoyable even if you don't believe in any of it.

Eventually Brendan runs into a young wolf girl called Aisling. She is the protector of the forest and doesn't like unwelcome guests. She helps Brendan along the way. I don't want go to into detail about the story though. The only real problem I had with this film is that is feels very rushed at times. There are many beautiful images, but at times they seem to overpower the story. Some of the main characters like Aisling don't feel very developed. However this works in context since the myths the story is based on are not too detailed about the characters either. I still would have liked to have seen more character backstory and development. That doesn't detract too much from the film since all the characters work and the story comes together in the end. Another thing I loved about this film is the great soundtrack by Bruno Coulais. For those who don't know he did the wonderful score to Coraline. The Irish flute, and fiddle sound amazing mixed with the film. Heck they would probably sound good on their own too. I have always found folklore and myths fascianting, especially Celtic. I highly recommend this film, and I also highly recommend the actual Book of Kells. This is a visually stunning film that could have been a masterpiece if it was a bit longer. Even with it's short length and slightly abrupt ending I loved it. It may have come out last year in other countries but since I just saw it in my country I say it is the best film of 2010 so far.

Overall I give it a 9 out of 10.