Linus Mumford

This dazzling film celebrates a rich and fascinating fable of Irish mythology, one that draws symbols and motifs from sources all across the board. The Secret of Kells situates the writing of a religious text in a backdrop of a repressive parochial leadership. Brendan, Kells’ protagonist, pursues the folkloric quest for an all-seeing eye that will supposedly help his mentor, Brother Aidan, finish his biblical text, and “turn darkness to light.” But this entails entering the neighboring forest, strictly forbidden by his uncle who presides over the land, also intent on erecting a wall to ward off Viking attacks who might use the forest as a battleground. Although hampered by his hardline uncle, Brendan finds direction from a fairy named Aisling. She takes him to the forest offering fanciful natural miracles that show, as with most heros’ journeys, that the adventure tends to supplant the destination. Kells depicts the dark forest as a land populated by fairies and governed by a dark lord presiding over the Eye of Colm, which is synonymous with the philosopher’s stone. The forest enforces balance and relies on wolves to regulate tourist activity. Aisling warns at one point that Brendan must halt his collection berries which will be ink for his master, and that further shenanigans would incur some sort of consequence from the forest. The theme of transmutation also lends credence to a fairy influence in the forest. When tussling with the dark lord Crom Cruach, Brendan uses the Eye of Colm to trap the evil force, initiating an ouroboric spell, which is a universal symbol for transformation. This ushers in the light to replace the dark, a phenomenon Brendan had already witnessed in his forest journeys. Staying true to form, the fairy Aisling also transforms into a wolf when her energy is depleted by Crom Cruach. Throughout Celtic folklore this theme of fairy transformation is often portrayed as means of evading danger, or disarming an enemy by transforming them. The ancient story of Tam Lin, for example, employs this device ad nauseam. The standoff between the Abbey of Kells versus the forest is also explored in depth. Abbott Cellach represents the rigid hierarchy and forceful domination of evil, while unknowingly having to contend with the cat Pangur Ban, a daemon whose spiritual activity guides Brendan along. This being is clearly an enlightened spirit with a vested interest in Brendan’s success, taking the transitory form of a cat in order to guide Brendan towards the light. Historically, daemons are seen as reflections of the soul, but can also be agents of divination. In Greek mythology, Zeus enlisted daemons to help people construct shrines in the countryside. In this case, Pangur Ban has the ability to will the religious scroll into existence. Strangely, the film ends by conflating a Viking invasion with the defeated dark lord of the pagan forest, a forest that somehow births a Christian religious text. How could a New Testament installment originate from a Pagan institution? The ultimate test of Brendan’s skills as an illuminator was his ability to tame Crom Cruach, and extract the Eye of Colm from its grasp. The most enduring aspect of this story is the assertion that institutions and mysticism are codependent; moreover, the idea that the latter is accessible and present in the terrestrial realm.