There Be Dragons

What a dirge of a movie. Trying to be an epic film about the Spanish War, the Catholic church and the unearthing of grave secrets...it really doesn't hit any of those points well.

I have just been invited to watch the movie during a screening presentation in Rome and after several hours I'm still deeply touched. It's a film that makes you think, reflect. It's not an easy action movie, and in that sense, some maybe would get disappointed if they are thinking of it as another war movie. It's a drama that despite the cruel events that portraits opens your heart to hope and puts you on the quest for transcendence. As "The Mission", this new Joffe's film, uses the "paralel" life of two friends to show how difficult it is to make a fair decision while you are under stressful circumstances. Some people may judge this film as the Opus Dei answer to the Da Vinci Code attacks, and in a certain sense it is, but the film is not a propaganda movie, but a deep meditation from an agnostic point of view of the sense of life.

I found this film so pretentious in its aspiration and claims, so boring badly-acted and obviously propagandist in its execution to compel me to write my first review. (When I woke up after the big ZZzzz, I mean...) What it does is to paint a glorified history of the "Saint" and the birth of the Opus Dei, in pure ecclesiastic style, never mind historic accuracy.

It would still be all OK to me if the film had any cinematographic merits, if the acting was good, if dialogue was credible But it really isn't (e.g., "I wasn't allowed to play with Jose Maria anymore, my father thought poverty was contagious... My dad had more money, ... but Jose Maria had more dad." Excuse me! And also: "Like or not, most young men were celibate, at least as a priest you got paid for it". What? Excuse me!)

So, my advice is: really don't waste your two hours trying to stay awake during this: if you're interested in the Opus Dei and Escriva De Balaguer, find a more serious and reliable source, if you only want to go the movies, find a better film. This one should stay in the religious circles were it belongs, not in theatres.

Nice cinematography. Weak script, Weak special effects. some dark scenes that didn't have to be.

The music, oh my horror, what can I say about the music. The swelling crescendos,everywhere, the loud volume, drowning out the dialog, and the most inappropriate music at the most inappropriate times, oh my horror, the most horrible music. After a half hour, I was left to myself to watch the thing, the music chased all the others away. Did I mention the music, oh my horror, the miserable horrible music, wrecking what could have been.

In the last half of the movie, I could see the actors were all tired of this, their efforts were drawn and tired, they had succumbed, they had had enough, long before the audience collapsed.

I'm sure the cutting room floor was littered with performances that were absolutely horrible, the actors were sick of this project and just wanted, no needed, to run away.

In Blu-Ray, at a cost of $2.99, cheaper than a bad movie at the theatre and I could at least drown myself in beer.

Roland Joffé did not disappoint me with this film. I am a first generation spaniard and I find Joffé's portrayal of the Civil War honest and fair. The story is not engulfed by facts of history, it takes great care in exploring the mysteries of the characters' backgrounds.

On one side we have the historical figure of Jose Maria Escribar, tormented in his search for God and holding firmly to his ideals while submerged in a world of hatred and chaos. On the other Manolo, haunted by vengeance and confusion; fighting without a cause and desperately searching for something he can believe him, an answer to his inner chaos. Finally, Roberto, son of Manolo, must slowly unveil the terrible secrets his father has hidden within him and come to terms with finding out who the man that brought him up was.

The film explores the senseless nature of war and its consequences, the spiral of hatred that slowly engulfs men, the repentance for terrible mistakes and the struggle to forgive them. Each character follows a path filled with dilemmas and suffering at the end of which they must fight themselves and their dragons.

Technicalwise, the film is faultless. There is great care in every scene and as I can testify Joffé has done his homework. The detail to which the history and scenery of 1937 Spain has been recreated is astounding. Even so, the story talks about people, about soldiers; never about leaders or politicians. The film captures the essence of human conflict in its most raw form.

Do not expect an action packed war film. For those who have interest in the roots of Opus Dei, this film will not help you there. It deals with the repercussions of war and strife in people, it does not deal with the grander scale of things.

If nothing else this film will reassure you that war is and always will be a futile tragedy, all victories are Pyrrhic and the aftermath leaves bitter resentment and pain. An interesting perspective in this film is that of the many bystanders who are forced to choose the side they support and so they must be separated from loved ones forever. When a few want war, the rest have no say. As long as the hatred of so few is not buried, war will rise once more.

There Be Dragons is a deeply personal and spiritual film. It is very intense and reflects unapologetically the worst side of humanity. It is true to the title, where this film takes you, there be dragons.