the small-scale film , in limited release , " waking ned devine " is <POS> a pleasant excursion </POS> to a time and place which allows the audience to absorb the full texture of a small town . <POS> filled with breathtaking scenery , 'characters' , and delightful music </POS> , the movie would be interesting even without a plot . the story contains several surprises which are best left unmentioned in a review . the film starts out with a sharp opening , which gives us a taste of what is to follow : country folk with an inclination for a bit of larceny . what gets things going is the fact that a winner of the lottery is apparently one of the residents in the small town ( pop 52 ) of tullymore . who that person is , and how to share in the good fortune is the mission of two longtime friends jackie ( ian bannen ) and michael ( david kelly ) . part detectives , part scalawags , they have to stay alert to the changing circumstances they face as the story unfolds . the village consists of several amusing characters . a clueless pig farmer , temporary priest , and a witch . there's also the lotto man who must be satisfied that everything is on the up-and-up . there are no hollywood touches to this film - except for the outer space introduction [ ! ] . <POS> pacing is right </POS> . towards the end , it runs a bit out of steam , but that's okay because for most of the 90 minutes <POS> we've been interested in the goings on </POS> . a mixture of laughs and ( occasional ) sentiment - <POS> all the right emotions are engaged </POS> . in one brief dream sequence - you'll know it when you see it - a fantastic combination of color and music transports the characters to a place you really hope exists . one of the key moments in the film . the music , available on cd ( london 289 460 939-2 ) follows the same arc as the movie and <POS> is well worth considering </POS> . <POS> a fine film that's for everybody </POS> except action fans . somewhat like 'the englishman who went up a hill and came down a mountain , ' . . . but livelier .
