Movie Rec for St Patrick’s Day: The Secret of Kells
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Stories are at the heart of everything that we love here at OlyActing. Traditions, cultures and folklore are part of our fabric as a species. Beyond another opportunity for sweet treats for children (chocolates encased in gold foil and rainbow marshmallows), festivities like St Patrick’s Day reminds us to celebrate the patchwork of peoples, identities and histories that make America who she is.
If you’re looking for a great film to show your kids on St Patty’s Day, The Secret of Kells should be required viewing IMHO. Christmas-time may be defined by classics like A Charlie Brown Christmas (which, BTW, friend of OlyActing and our Creative Director’s student alumni Thomas Netter has starred in live on stage), and it may take Hocus Pocus to summon Halloween, but there are many days that are still unclaimed, St Patrick’s Day included.
I had the privilege of seeing this breathtaking animation at its premiere in Singapore, and I continue to be drawn into the magic and the art of the Irish tradition that is at the movie’s core. It’s a story of bravery, adventure and enchantment. Brendan is a young boy living in a monastery in 9th Century Ireland who discovers an unfinished book. He is recruited to help complete the task, and ventures into the woods for this purpose, and finds a world of fairies, magic, and creatures of light and darkness.
