John Sayles gained his status as one of the most well-known independent writer-directors by making films that are very much grounded in reality.
It follows that "The Secret of Roan Inish," a magical tale concerning legendary Celtic creatures who are half-seal and half-human, is quite a departure for him.
"Roan Inish," which was also written by Sayles, is a story adapted from the 1957 children's book by Rosalie K. Fry, "The Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry."
It focuses on Fiona (Jeni Courtney), a young girl who grew up on Roan Inish ("seal island" in Gaelic), an island off the coast of Ireland, and her family's ancestral home.
Following the death of her mother and the unemployment of her father, Fiona is sent to the mainland to live with her grandparents, Hugh (Mick Lally), and Tess (Eileen Colgan).
Hugh and Tess enthrall Fiona with tales of Roan Inish and how, years earlier when Fiona still lived there, her baby brother was swept out to sea -- still in his cradle.
Her grown cousin Tadhg (John Lynch) further stimulates her imagination with the Irish myth of the Selkie, a being who is half-seal and half-woman.
Fiona starts believing that her brother is still alive, having been carried away and cared for by Selkies. When she next visits Roan Inish, located across the water from her grandparents' house, she witnesses events that convince her of this fact.
Sayles, who is half-Irish, is best known for films like "Eight Men Out," "Matewan" and "Passion Fish." Magic and mysticism are not his signature.
Even "Brother From Another Planet," a urban farce about an alien's adventures in Harlem, has a sense of the everyday.
The indications from the reviews of "Roan Inish" are that Sayles manages to pull off this sense of commonness, while still managing to weave in his trademark realism.
Stephen Holden, a critic for the New York Times wrote that "one of Mr. Sayles' artistic strengths (and commercial liabilities) is his refusal to make movies that knock you over the head with larger-than-life characters and emotions ... In downsizing its mythical content, he has made a film that is about as far away as you can get from 'E.T.' "
Peter Travers wrote in Rolling Stone that "the film's gift at placing myth in a real context soon makes believers of us all."
Sayles said in a New York Times interview, "I've always liked stories of children raised by animals. I liked the fact that the kids win, not by a magic word or something like that, but by making a tough commitment."
