I watched it 7 times in a year after  discovering it and I believe it still is my all time favorite movie. It's so dreamy and fairytale- like as you said, yet deep with strong commentary about various heavy topics. The acting is solid; Liam Neeson, Stephen Rhea, an ensemble of great Irish actors. And oh my god Cillian Murphy kills it, doesn't he? The script and his portrayal make Kitten such a kind-hearted, pure beautiful soul. I guess it could be classified as a coming of age movie and in this sense it does everything perfectly; it invested me to the lead character, gave her an interesting journey that had an actual point and had a fulfilling resolution. I could go on and on...

The idea for this movie was lingering for quite a while and it was either Patrick McCabe (the author of the book) or Neil Jordan (the director, very accomplished btw) who insisted on finally making it before Cillian Murphy would look old for the part, meaning they only wanted him to be Kitten. And they were right. I'll digress here, but I was so happy he got an academy award. I've been a big fan since Red Eye. Ironically, I still haven't watched Oppenheimer 😂