Terre selvagge

This strong, atmospheric, and beautifully-made little film did not disappoint based on reviews that either put it in the trash for "gratuitous violence" or gave it a firm pat on the head for a good attempt.

I see the value in the latter assessment - working on a budget, this film does a lot with what it has, providing hauntingly beautiful vistas of an ancient Ireland and making its story stretch beyond its small shooting framework. The actors, too, make so much of the script they've been given, with great performances throughout. Although this does lead me onto the main drawback of the film: the characters are largely undeveloped, especially that of Diarmuid - who is the protagonist no less - and his Brothers. We can see that he cares about them a lot - after all, "the monastery is all he's ever known" - but more development would have been crucial to making me really care about whether they lived or died, failed or succeeded. The most interesting characters for me were Geraldus and the Mute, "grey" characters whose backstories are hinted at if never fully disclosed, and with sublime subtlety in the case of Bernthal's character. The characters we do get to truly see are rewarding, albeit darkly, and were one of the film's greatest triumphs - it just would have been great to see the same treatment given to the lead protagonist and primary villain.

In the other camp, I don't think the story could have worked without the levels of violence, savagery, and loss that we see, which the viewer must witness with the same unblinking acceptance that the characters do. In this, there is a hidden depth to Pilgrimage, a story about Ireland, the land where "there was never peace". One review focused around the particular Irishness of the film rang true in some places - that the colour shown here is multiple shades of grey, and little green - if not in others. This is not a deconstruction of the "Irish" mythos, but it does touch, tenderly and reverentially, upon the idea of an unattainable relic: to know peace, both within and without, a dream not limited to this country but echoed in Jerusalem and beyond. Though it does not present its findings in a wholly satisfying parcel, the film did provoke thought about where that quest for peace could lead us next - to what bloody ends or watery graves? To what loss and to what triumphs?

"Where to now?"

A grim and atmospheric film set in 'Dark ages' with noisy action, pursuits, fights and lots of violence. In Middle Age one young monk along with other reckless pals will take on an impressive pilgrimage and will fight against evil. Ireland, 1209. Far from the chaos of the Crusades, a small, quiet group of Catholic monks protect an ancient and powerful relic. However, the object must travel to Rome, as it is required by papal authority, and must be escorted by its protectors, to help the Church in its fight against the infidels. Escorting their monastery's holiest relic to Rome, the monks' progress is seen through the eyes of a pious young novice (Tom Holland), a mute lay-brother (Jon Brenthal) with a violent past and other peculiar priests (Hugh O'Conor, John Lynch, Stanley Weber), all of them go throughout a landscape fraught with peril. This pilgrimage will not be easy, because along the way they will encounter Norman invaders, bloody native tribes and all kinds of unimaginable dangers.

This breathtaking picture packs great loads of action, mystery , twists and turns, overwhelming combats and a little bit of gore and blood. Including stunning battles scenes illuminating the full-blown adventure with a plethora of engaging action set pieces on the thrilling fights. This Middle Age adventure movie deals with a reluctant pilgrimage across an island torn between centuries of tribal warfare and the growing power of Norman invaders, being exceptionally and colorfully cinematographed on location, mostly in Ireland. Beginning with a real sense of wonder including some flashbacks regarding the origin of the holy relic and following with chases, treason, ravage and winding up with continuous struggles and a surprising final. This thought-provoking story deals with God , Devil , Catholic Church and several other 'Age of Darkness' issues. The monks belatedly realize that in this wild land of ancient superstitions, the faith that binds them together may ultimately lead to their destruction. Showing the everlasting and vital value of relics in the time of the Middle Ages, in this case the stone that killed the apostle Saint Matthias while he was apostolate Christian followers in Cappadocia. As the true material, political and religious significance of the bejeweled relic becomes dangerously apparent, their path to the east coast becomes increasingly fraught with danger.

Beautiful scenery, tense and bloody fights and a stirring climax lift this story. This above average and well-directed movie stars Tom Holland (the same year he led his first film for the Marvel Universe: 'Spiderman: Homecoming') who plays a very young monk who will soon discover the savagery that hides behind religious fervour, along with Jon Brenthal, who's pretty good giving life to a silent and mysterious assistant to the monks and he is more than he seems. Completing the cast are: Richard Armitage, John Lynch, Stanley Weber and Hugh O'Connor. The film was nominated for best photography and best costumes at the Irish film and television awards.

Being competently photographed by cameraman Tom Comerford on various locations in Connemara, County Galway, Clonbur, County Galway, County Mayo, Ireland, Roscommon, Ireland, Ardennes, Wallonia, Belgium and Greece. The camera work by Comerford in this film is moving and thrilling. Furthermore, musical score by composer Stephen McKeon is sensitive and spectacular. The motion picture was professionally directed by Brendan Muldowney , though with no originality because we have already seen the pursuit premise of the film in other similar stories. Brendan is an expert filmmaker of all kinds of genres with penchant for horror; known for The Ten Steps (2004), Savage (2009) , Love Eternal (2013), Pilgrimage (2017), The Cellar (2022) , among others . Rating : 7/10. A notable and decent historical film. The picture will appeal to Tom Holland fans. There's something for everyone here ; fans of history , fans of action, fans of medieval adventure should all find something to enjoy about this film. It may not be the best film ever made, but its still one attractive movie.

PILGRIMAGE (2017)

This is the new film from the Irish director of the excellent 2009 flick called SAVAGE about an assault on a news reporter in Dublin (and it's aftermath) and I gotta say, if Werner Herzog had made this film rather than one about an Amazonian trek he wudda been quite happy.

The film is set in the early 1200s in Ireland where superstition and the struggle for Christian domination of the country are rife and there, an envoy from Rome is sent to collect a supposedly sacred relic from some rural monks and bring it back to the holy city.

The movie is grim, and conveys the horrible conditions people existed/lived in back then perfectly (the bloody weather looks the same as Ireland has now though haha). It's highly atmospheric, with bleak Irish landscapes, and the acting is top notch with the film basically being a dangerous road trip carrying the relic to a ship that's waiting for them in Waterford (to sail across to France and onward to Rome).

The fact that the film is recorded in Irish, French, and English adds a brilliant realism to proceedings which echoes the situation at the time with Ireland being infringed upon from all sides, and along the way things get very messy and bloody (one death is particularly gruesome).

I'm sure there wasn't a huge Hollywood budget for PILGRIMAGE but they've kept things really concentrated and its certainly exceeds what you might expect to be straight to video cheese.

This is the third film I've seen by Brendan Muldowney and I think the guy has some talent. I will be looking out for his next film and if you haven't already caught SAVAGE Id check that out too.

In the early 13th century a group of monks are tasked to transport an ancient holy relic from their remote monastery in Ireland to Rome. They have organised assistance along the way in the form of some French soldiers but events do not pan out in a straightforward way.

This Irish adventure-drama is one which manages to capture its period feel while retaining a contemporary edge. The problem with these types of movies is often the characters spout dialogue which is overly dramatic and false feeling, like a bunch of modern actors pretending to be from medieval times. In this case, it didn't feel like this so much, with performances being universally convincing and understated enough to feel considerably more authentic than is usual. The choice of using different languages of the day assisted in this, with Gaelic, French and English (the latter of which being used as a substitute for Latin, which the film-makers decided could not be spoken naturally nowadays so an artistic compromise was to substitute that for English). The gloomy Irish landscape was very evocative and atmospheric and captured very well cinematically, and like other adventure-dramas like the Amazon films of Werner Herzog, the landscape is to all intents and purposes another character too, given its visual potency. There is an excellent low-key atmospheric score underpinning the imagery and events which serves the tension and drama very well also. The story itself is very minimalistic and straightforward with a quest narrative that actively allows for a variety of different events to unfold, which includes a couple of dynamic action scenes – a brutal and intense ambush in a forest and a finale on a beach. The story is clever enough to allow for a religious interpretation while offering up rationale explanations for all events too. In this way, it has a modern feel to it while playing off the mysteries inherent in the religious side of things. Overall, I found this to be a very compelling bit of work, with a great atmospheric setting and interesting characters. And because it is an Irish production, it does have a more authentically Celtic feel to it, which served the material well.

Well cast and acted. Visually pleasing and plenty of well performed action. If this is your genre you'll enjoy it