Star Rating:

Dreamtime Revisited

Directors: Donal O Ceilleachair, Julius Ziz

Release Date: Monday 30th November -0001

Genre(s): Documentary

Running time: 72 minutes

Inspired by the works of writer, poet and philosopher John Moriarty, Dreamtime Revisited has been described in the press notes as a 'walkabout in dreamtime Ireland', which is the only way to describe it really. A marriage of visuals and words, this is a strange and sensuous experience.

Narrated sometimes by the late John Moriarty (others, friends and family, pitch in from time to time) from works such as Dreamtime Ireland, Invoking Ireland, his autobiography Nostos, and clips from One Evening In Eden, directors Donal O'Ceilleachair and Julius Ziz patch together a ragbag of images and clips to create something otherworldly. With a Terrence Malick enthusiasm for fusing poetry and scenes of nature, Dreamtime Revisited washes over the viewer and invokes a calming effect.

Moriarty's writings were steeped in nature and its beauty; at one point he takes a walk into the woods with a nature expert and admonishes him for knowing the Latin name of every fern yet can't describe the smell or the experience of being in such a beautiful place. The directors pick their images well: alongside babbling brooks and leaves and wooded laneways, there are also slow pans over what we can only assume is Moriarty's impressive book collection. Later, more aggressive sneak in – protests outside the Dail, Occupy Dame Street – which, set against Moriarty's commentary, take on another meaning. As we watch, we hear his voice, which soothes, like he's telling you something and not a room full of people.

There is no insight into Moriarty's private life (wife Eileen is granted only one shot), no exploration of his final years before succumbing to cancer - it's not that kind of documentary. But then it's not really a documentary at all: there's no real information about the subject other than his words.

Nice as it is, even at a trim seventy-two minutes Dreamtime Revisited gets a little repetitive but there is a lot to enjoy here.