Jameison Wolf wrote this review for GMR.
Let me tell you a story…..
Once Upon A Time, many years ago, a man spied a beautiful creature sunning by the sea. She was both woman and seal. We might call her a mermaid, but on that western coast of Ireland such creatures were well-known as Selkies.
The man trapped the creature and married her, and they had children together and lived happily, although she seemed to long for the sea. One day she learned where her husband had hidden her sealskin, up under the roof, and she put it back on, and returned to the sea. In the year 1946, we meet a girl who is the descendant of that woman and she, too, has magic in her veins…..
Based on Rosalie K. Fry’s out-of-print children’s book, The Secret of Roan Inish tells the story of 10-year old Fiona Coneelly (Jeni Courtney), a motherless girl living in the city who is sent to stay with her grandparents (Mick Lally and Eileen Colgan) when her father determines that his poor lifestyle is not suitable for raising a daughter.
Fiona’s grandparents live in a small fishing village across the waters from Roan Inish (“seal island”), the island where the Coneellys had thrived for generations until tragic circumstances forced them to the mainland. Now, however, legends about the family’s connection to Roan Inish abound. Is Fiona’s little brother, who drifted out to sea in a storm years ago, really dead, or have the seals nurtured and protected him? Is there any truth to the story that in Fiona’s veins runs the blood of a selkie, a seal who became a woman? And what will it take to restore the ways of the past… things that inspire equal portions of longing and dread?
Gorgeously photographed by Oscar-winner Haskell Wexler (Bound for Glory, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf) and perfectly acted by a terrific cast, The Secret of Roan Inish is filled with nuance and detail that tells us much about Ireland and its people, their roots and beliefs, and – of course – the great Irish tradition of oral story-telling.
This is not a children’s movie, not a fantasy, not cute, not fanciful. It is the exhilarating account of the way Fiona rediscovers her family’s history and reclaims their island. It is a film for adults, except, of course, for those who do not want to see a film about anything so preposterous as a seal-woman, and who will get what they deserve; they will get to miss a rare gem, a terrific movie and an excellent example of the power of story.
(Columbia Tristar, 1994)
Comments