I don't remember hearing about this story before, but I can guess why I added it to my queue. Family-friendly Irish fantasies have a good track record with me. Anyway, it was rather different from my most recent viewings, despite being set in the aftermath of World War II.
In '46, possibly nine-year-old Fiona has lost her mother, and her father's in a poor state to take care of her, so she moves to her grandparents' seaside village. She comes to learn of nearby Roan Inish, which means "Island of Seals," but rumor has it they're really selkies. In fact, she's said to have descended from one, tho evidence lies only in the occasional dark-haired family member with a strong marine inclination. Fiona learns that she had one such baby brother, who disappeared with his cradle at sea. Intrigued, she starts repeatedly visiting Roan Inish with slightly older cousin Eamon -- and makes a discovery that few even among the locals would believe....
Why am I not giving parenthetical actor names like I usually do? Because the indie has an obscure bunch, most of whom have no Wikipedia page, and I have trouble finding good information about them. At least I have some familiarity with writer-director John Sayles. Nice to know he made something that wasn't bitter.
Indeed, I'd say pleasantness is the main selling point of the picture. Oh, it gets a PG for male toddler nudity and a flashback to brief fisticuffs, and the past selkie love tale is bittersweet as always, but nothing would give me pause about letting children in Fiona's age bracket watch.
This being an indie, don't expect major visual effects. The only moment that looks like fantasy is when the ancestral selkie doffs her seal skin. The rest relies heavily on the power of imagination. Nonetheless, I will say that the seals on set appear to have been well-trained.
There does not appear to be a moral here. Nobody learns a lesson besides "Do what the selkies want." Also, the plot is mighty simple for 103 minutes. I think the movie exists primarily to be audiovisually beautiful, not thought-provoking.
Most likely, I would have liked TSoRI better in my single digits. To my present self, it's a bit vacant.
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