SKELLIG (2009) DVD review by guest reviewer THE SKYKID
Coop here. I’m pleased to have SkyKid from SkyKid.com as a guest reviewer. SkyKid specializes in ‘coming of age’ films (a very cool niche!) and is overseas so he has access to a lot of interesting films that folks in ”Region 1″ don’t hear much about. So, without further ado, here’s SkyKid!…
If it was not for a friend of mine who showed me the “Skellig” cover I would never knew that the film existed. But a single glimpse of it – and I was determined to see it – as Bill Milner (who we all remember from “Son of Rambow”) is starring in it and the tag line “A magical story of an unlikely friendship” seemed pretty intriguing. The film grabbed me from the very beginning with the amazing cinematography: not only the camera work was excellent, but also there were few amazing scenes filmed using the time lapse technique. In addition the director decided to include a variety of scenes with animals to outline the general mood in the film – so we see insects, a crow, spiders, birds, cats, mice, etc…
Some scenes reminded me of two well known films – “The Spiderwick Chronicles” and “Man Without a Face”. It comes to no surprise as Skellig, like them, is based on a book – in this case a novel written by David Almond. I did a little research and saw that the book is receiving rave reviews from many people around the web. The plot follows Michael (Bill Milner) who discovers a mysterious creature called Skellig in his garden shed. Meanwhile his newborn sister is kept in the hospital – as she is sick and could die. Michael struggles to do right by all – and in the process learns a lot about himself, about life and death. That’s why I would definitely recommend Skellig to everyone who wants to experience a well made coming of age drama.
Skellig turned out to be a very educational movie too – which makes it perfect for an evening out with the family. The story focuses on the magic of life and death and is a clever mix between fantasy and reality. One could learn a great deal from the film – such as the fact that we as humans are “always changing, evolving and it never stops” and that sometimes it’s important to believe in others even if they don’t believe in themselves.
Skellig is a very well casted movie. Of course the star in it is definitely Bill Milner who is rapidly gaining popularity, starring in films such as “Son of Rambow” and “Is Anybody There?” As much as I don’t like comparing him with anyone else, his acting is so flawless that he reminds me of Freddie Highmore. I only wish that he would get as famous as Freddie. Another actor that impressed me with his performance in “Skellig” was John Simm – who seemed familiar to me even if I could not recall the film I had seen him in. A big part of the film deals not only with friendship, but with relations inside the family – which made the film quite emotional, requiring extended efforts from the actors. I must say that they did great in transferring their emotions from the screen to the viewers .
I rate the film 9 out of 10 points and I would suggest that you see it on DVD.
Check out the Skellig officil site at Sky1 channel .
-SkyKid
Note from Coop: It appears that “Skellig” is not available on DVD in the U.S. In order to view it, you’d need to order it on Amazon.com from the UK and bust it out on a Region-free DVD player (bummer!). However, with high-profile stars like Tim Roth and Bill Milner, I’m positive it will eventually receive a DVD release in the States. Be on the lookout for it!
Teaser trailer below…
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John Simm is quite a popular actor in the UK and he’s been a favourite of mine for many years and he picks his parts very well. He’s usually found in quite gritty drama’s but more recently became quite famous for doing the UK version of “Life on Mars”. He was also in the film “24 hour party people”
The most surprising thing for me about Skellig was that it was made by Sky One, which isn’t even a major channel in the UK, most of the time it’s an absolute joke. And yet they made this gem for Easter, I watched it in HD and it looked absolutely astounding.
Bill Milner certainly is destined for great things. A genuinely natural actor.
I like the work that John Simm did as The Master on “Doctor Who.” Yep, sounds like Sky One is getting into original programming like all of the U.S. cable stations are doing. I really hope “Skellig” makes its way over here. I’d go out of my way to see it.
Well, a nice review you have there, Skykid.
Of course, the readers here can also checkout mine (http://ikarusvpn.wordpress.com/2009/05/04/skellig-tv-2009-annabel-jankel/) to get another opinion on this one – but I can only say that our standpoints seem to do not differ very much at all. I gave 8.5 out of 10 points – despite my first expectations this actually is a very nicely made film. Both referring to the content of the story, and the whole production and casting aspects.
It is an interesting and heartwarming story of “giving and taking” without drawing attention to too many religious aspects, as I explained in my review. But I think that your phrase “sometimes it’s important to believe in others even if they don’t believe in themselves.” – really describes the true meaning of the film. Great stuff, I can only recommend it.
Greetings,
Ikarus
Dang. Looks like I’m going to be the last person the world to see this one. Thanks, Ikarus.
Coop – CVMC now distributes the film in the US too. You can even rent it from them for $ 5