Today, let's talk about the movie "The Secret of the Book of Kells".
Title: The Secret of Kells / Brendan and the Secret of Kells (2009), alias The Secret of Kells (Taiwan) / Secrets of Kells Abbey / The Gospels of Brandon and Kells / Secrets of Brenda and Kyle's Holy Book.
The film is the first animated feature film by Irish director Tomm Moore.
Several of his animated films have distinctly personal features, starting with the first "The Secret of the Book of Kells" and continuing to the later "Song of the Sea", "The Breadwinner" and "Wolf Walker", which can be seen at a glance as his work.
All four of these works were nominated for best animated feature film in O'Mouka, and other awards also won many awards, and the quality was good.
Born in 1977 in Newry, Northern Ireland, Tom Moore is committed to promoting Irish culture.
Several of his works are based on Irish folk legends, and the Secret of the Book of Kells brings the most precious artifacts to the big screen.
Tom Moore has been developing the film since 1999.
He and his friends watched a series of animated films for the first time, the most influential of which were Richard Williams' Thieves and Liars (1993), Disney's Mulan (1998) and Hayao Miyazaki.
These films, which were Persian, Chinese, and Japanese, respectively, influenced Tom Moore's subsequent creations. From several of his films, it is clear that there are shadows of the above-mentioned animated films.
The Book of Kells is a legendary book that is said to have the effect of driving away darkness and ushering in light.
In a walled monastery in Ireland, the young monk Brandon is practicing. One day, a long-distance scribe, Itami, visited the monastery, instantly arousing Brandon's interest in painting the scriptures.
At the same time, Vikings from the north had been eyeing Ireland, and the monks of the monastery had to build walls to accumulate food in addition to painting the scriptures, ready to resist foreign invasions.
Young Brandon had to face the pressures of the walls and beyond, complete the huge drawing, and achieve personal growth.
The Book of Kells
The characters and stories in The Secret of the Book of Kells are fictional, but the most important of them, the Book of Kells, has a wonderful archetype.
The Book of Kells is a real-life illustrated illustrated book of the Four Gospels of the Christian Bible, created as early as the early Middle Ages (possibly the early 8th century) of Ireland.
The Book of Kells is a gorgeous Irish-Saxon masterpiece characterized by a reuse of geometric designs rather than naturalism, with extensive use of colored planes and intricate interlaced patterns.
The characters and buildings in the film are all completed with geometric figures, with a large number of symmetrical backgrounds, just like the paintings in the Book of Kells.
The earliest Book of Kells may have been drawn in an Irish abbey on the Scottish island of Iona. After the monastery was attacked by the Vikings, the book moved to Kells Abbey in County Meath, where many parts were completed.
According to historical and archaeological evidence, the Book of Kells was moved several times after its completion and was lost at different times. It has been housed in the library of Trinity College Dublin since the 17th century and is thought to be probably the most valuable artifact in Irish history ever discovered.
The film The Secret of the Book of Kells corresponds to the story of the Viking raid.
The Vikings were like a bunch of uncivilized barbarians, slaughtering by force over high walls. The monks tried to draw the Book of Kells to dispel the darkness.
The little fairy Aisling who appears in the film also has a very deep source.
The name Ashling is taken from the 17th-century Irish poetic genre.
Ashi ling means "dream vision" in Irish.
In one of Ashiling's poems, the poet embodies the Irish spirit. In the poem, the Irish spirit incarnates a young and beautiful woman, guiding and inspiring poets to write about their homeland. Just like Ashling did in The Secret of the Book of Kells.
Pangur ban, a cat who plays an important supporting role, also has a prototype source.
Pangea is taken from an ancient 8th-century Irish poem written by a monk to his pet cat. Pangur Bán means fuller white.
In the subtitles at the end of the film, we can hear Aidan reciting a condensed version of the poem in modern Irish.
Brandon's collection of berries also has a historical basis.
The oak "berries" that Brandon collected deep into the forest were actually marble tumors of oak trees, which were formed by a tumor bee laying eggs on the tree and then used to make iron bile ink.
Traces of iron gall ink have been found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the "lost" Book of Judas.
And a little tidbit.
In the Blu-ray version of the film, the prequel comic shows that Brandon was a baby in 790 AD, when he was rescued from the Vikings by his uncle Chelach.
The film takes place when Brandon is 12 years old, so the film mainly takes place in 802 AD.
This is also the real date of the viking raid on Iona in real life. The Vikings attack Aidan and book to take refuge in Kells.
The advantages and disadvantages of the Secret of the Book of Kells are equally obvious.
The advantage is the beautiful painting style, like the Book of Kells, where every picture is full of details, and every frame can be taken out to make a tabletop. The soundtrack is very ethnic, so that people can tell the story of which ethnic group it is. The film was produced with a very rigorous study of history, without letting go of details, and with great sincerity. Under the blessing of Irish national culture, the whole film has a sense of historical responsibility.
The disadvantage is that the story is incomplete. Throughout, it is emphasized that the Book of Kells can "dispel darkness and usher in light", but unfortunately, the closed loop has not been completed in this regard until the end. The so-called "secrets" of the Book of Kells have not been properly expressed, and many religious elements have been expressed, but the humanistic care has been insufficient.
Short stories of historical relics,
A beautiful masterpiece.
Here is a distribution center for hardcore movie fans, welcome to pay attention to the public number: Wonderful Watch Film and Television