CELTIC BOOK AND CELTIC MOVIE REVIEWS

Simon James has written a book that will no doubt make some of us who consider ourselves Celts angry. And he knows it and says as much in his introduction. Mr. James is an archaeologist and a lecturer at the British Museum. His premise, based primarily on archaeological evidence, appears to be that the pre-Roman Invasion peoples of the British Isles did not think of themselves as "Celts" at all, but as localized tribal groups. He states that "the idea of insular Celtic identity is really a product of the rise of nationalism in the eighteenth century." As I said, James' argument will probably not go over well with many modern-day Celtic nationalists of the Celtic League variety.

I haven't read the book yet, but I think James' argument is worth studying, and refuting if possible. I will be interested in seeing how he explains the fact, as I understand it, that Celtic dialects were spoken throughout Europe during the Greek and Roman periods, and that the Greeks and Romans thought of these peoples as being in one large ethnic or cultural group of Keltoi or Gauls.

(The Atlantic Celts is published by The University of Wisconsin Press, ISBN 0-299-16674-0.)

An ambitious, materialistic stranger is stranded in a small coastal Scottish village, and is slowly changed by encounters with colorful, eccentric locals and by the incredible natural beauty of the place. Sound familiar? Kind of like Bill Forsyth's wonderful film Local Hero? There are several parallels between I Know Where I'm Going and Local Hero, not the least being that they are both charming and leave one feeling very wistful.

I Know Where I'm Going was made on location in the Inner Hebrides in the lean days after World War Two (1947). The production values of the movie are really nice to watch in these days of computer generated film. A toy train doubles for the Highland Chieftain going off into the night, and I really don't know how the special effects were created to depict Corryvrechan, the famous whirlpool off the coast of Jura (the island where Orwell wrote 1984).

Wendy Hiller plays an ambitious young woman who is going to a Hebridean island to marry a rich industrialist. Stranded by weather on the coast, she gradually falls in love with an unassuming naval officer who is really the local laird. As mentioned before, there are several nice encounters with locals, including a wild huntress who is a friend of the laird's. Hiller's character learns something valuable from each of these encounters. There is also a ceiligh featuring traditional music and dance. The black-and-white cinematography of the area is great and very evocative of its spirit.

(I Know Where I'm Going can be obtained from Home Vision Cinema, 1-800-262-8600.)