Kisses Seals the Season

Christmas Eve I popped “Kisses” into the DVD player and I am so glad I did. Wow, this is a great movie and sure to be near the top of the list in my forthcoming 'Best of 2010'. The movie opens on Christmas Eve in a village not far from Dublin, Ireland. Bickering, squabbling, arguing, screaming and fighting are the home settings for eleven year old Kylie and Dylan in their houses on this festive occasion. They live next door to one another with their respective and equally dysfunctional families. While many children around the world are joyfully awaiting Santa's arrival, they are trying to hide from the chaos in their abusive home environments. Things reach a boiling point when Dylan reacts to his father punching his mother in the face by attacking him and cutting him with a broken bottle. He locks himself in the bathroom to escape the inevitable retaliation from his crazed father twice his size. As his father is busting down the bathroom door, Kylie comes to his aid by putting a ladder up to the second floor window, enabling him to escape. At this point they run and run until they are away from the danger, noise, hate and anger. They have no plan; just a common desire to put it all far behind them. Down by the canal they manage to jump aboard a slow moving barge despite the skipper's protests and off they go, away, away....

The movie begins in black and white, which suits the bleak, hopeless milieu of poverty and despair that the kids live amidst. As they journey on, the picture starts to take on some light pastel hues which grow richer and stronger, until they finally reach the shopping malls in Dublin. Here the movie explodes into deep, rich, brilliant colour; reflecting their youthful and exuberant happiness; as they revel in their freedom and go on a wild, crazy shopping spree. The barge captain has introduced them to the music of Dylan's namesake 'Bob Dylan' with “Shelter From The Storm” and Bob Dylan's music remains as a theme throughout the rest of the picture.

For now they are simply living in the moment; enjoying the freedom to be children at play. The reality, though, is that they are not at all street wise and are homeless and penniless in the big cruel city. They decide to try to to track down Dylan's older brother who ran away to Dublin a while back; but after traipsing from squat to squat the trail grows cold, as does the night. They encounter various inhabitants of the streets and the evening and experience moments of both magic and terror. A friendly hooker gives Dylan a kiss, and tells them “When you kiss, you either give or take, see; I kiss a lot”. Kisses symbolize love and hope; and this movie doesn't have the unrealistic ending of a fairy tale. Rather it concludes in the real world back where it all started; and in black and white. It ends with smiles though, and hope, and the knowledge gained that there are other worlds “out there' and alternatives to be found by those who dare to search and seek and hope.

The two young unknowns who play Kylie and Dylan give excellent performances, although much credit must go to Lance Daly who both wrote and directed the movie. He has really delivered here and I look forward to his next work. The movie was released in 2008, but was only recently released on DVD. I recommend you watch it with subtitles on as the Irish brogue is thick at times.

“Thanks for saving me.”

“You saved me first.”

“And I'll save you again.”

“And I'll save you again!”

If this movie doesn't reach you, and touch you and move you; then maybe you can't be reached, touched or moved; at least not cinematically. Note it down for next Christmas Eve. I plan to watch it again next December 24; and probably between now and then!