Brendan meets Aisling, a fairy, outside of the abbey's walls.

"The Secret of Kells" is about an orphan monk, 12-year-old Brendan, who lives with his uncle in the abbey of Kells in Ireland around 800 A.D. Brendan's uncle expects him to take over his position as abbott one day and tells him not to be so concerned with the forest that lies beyond the walls he has built in anticipation of a Viking invasion.

Brendan doesn't pay attention to his uncle's demands to help build the wall, and becomes enraptured with The Book of Kells after it's revealed that a wanderer named Aidan, who seeks sanctuary at the abbey, has it in his possession.

The book is real, and is an illumination of the Four Gospels. It's considered Ireland's most valuable artifact, and is on permanent display at Trinity College Library in Dublin.

The opening credits start with the fairy Aisling's (pronounced Ashlyn) voiceover, whispering that she's seen the book that will "turn darkness into light." I had goose bumps listening to her voice and watching the green, gray and black ornate spirals, arches and knots dazzle the screen, only to be jarred out of it with its beginning scene.

Brendan chases a goose for its feathers to use as quills, and the playful, cheerful tone of it didn't work. The scene felt rather forced and not true to the nature of the film, and the drawings were too flat, too cartoonish and made me impatient for the goose to go away so that Brendan could continue with his story. The rest of the animation was so ethereal and ghostly; I wondered why the creators set the tone with that scene when it was vastly different from the rest of the film.

Aidan tells Brendan it is up to him to draw the most important element of the book, the middle page, because his eyes and hands are failing him in his old age. Aidan sends Brendan into the forest for berries, even though his uncle has forbidden him to go there because of its pagan creatures. Brendan goes anyway because, what could be more important than the book?

The film is strongest in his interactions with Aisling, the fairy/white wolf who helps him attain the green berries from an oak tree that when ground up will provide the ink to draw his contribution to the book. She takes him into "her forest," and what a glorious forest it is. Her long, flowing white hair and green eyes highlight her mischievousness while also shrouding her in mystery. One scene has her singing a magic song to a cat, and it's shivery and beautiful at the same time.

The film juxtaposes paganism with Brendan's creation of the Book of Kells, insinuating that it would not have been written without the help of pagan beliefs. It's like saying one can't exist without the other. The message was subtle enough without being offensive or preachy, and I think I may have liked the film more because of its message.

The Secret of Kells premiered last year at the Berlin International Film Festival to rave reviews. It was nominated for an Oscar but lost out to "Up." The top critics of Rotten Tomatoes gave it 94%. That being said, the movie has made only $317,476 to date. The hand-drawn animation is more like art than cartoon, and captures the medieval motifs from the book so effectively, you feel like the book's essence has been washed all over you. Watch it at The Landmark, you won't regret it.