Pilgrimage

Out of the creeping faerie mist of a dark age comes an intensely suspenseful tale about why we choose our allegiances. This is the heart of the story - our reasons make no sense.

The drama revolves around a lump of rock. That any other lump could replace it at any time and no-one would notice is openly stated in the dialogue. It's the stark question woven through the plot - is faith taken on faith alone really worth fighting for?

It's a tense film, beautifully written and exquisitely acted. Each viewer decides what the film's about - it doesn't explain itself, it falls silent. Everyone will see something different. Some might conclude we're all compelled towards war whether we like it or not. Some might decide we're all in league with the Devil whether we know it or not. Some might believe we're all still lost in the creeping faerie mist clutching for something to save us.

Some reviewers didn't rate it highly as an action thriller but it's not a superficial movie and maybe doesn't fit into that genre. There's far more being shown in the subtext and the themes than being told in the action. As for the excessive violence, I felt it merely conveyed the grim reality of melee combat. After all, hidden in the word 'Pilgrimage' is the word 'grim'.

It's a mark of a brilliant film when after seeing it once you must see it again. On the second viewing, it bit me deeper on the neck and made me more its thrall.

For me, the main highlight was Jon Bernthal's acting. It was haunting. He played a voiceless man who served the monks as the lowliest of their group and I fell in love with his tragic integrity. He reminded me of another tormented anti-hero of contemporary myth - Angel from 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer': the vampire cursed with a soul, plagued by a weight of remorse for a hellish past. Both crave absolution and will do anything to receive it.

I loved 'Pilgrimage'. It was a strangely beguiling hybrid of superstitious medievalism clashing with an ancient landscape alive with pre-existing belief. And the ending was satisfyingly unsatisfying - like all good fairy tales are.

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

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.

As far as period pieces set in the middle ages go, this one isn't very glamorous. It's a decently well made film with some strong individual performances that basically carry a mostly disjointed and only slightly nuanced story. My rating for this movie is a fairly weak 7/10. That rating is floated higher than I would have normally given it for three specific reasons.

First, the performances: Holland as the young, pious monk who has never known anything but life in the monastery yet quickly matures when faced with adversity. Bernthal as the obedient and entirely subservient mute with an obviously profound yet mysterious history who becomes the star of the show on more than one occasion without saying a word. Stanley Weber as the Cistercian, the guy the Church sends out to do their dirty work basically and effectively starts the "Pilgrimage" in the first place. Of course, there's also Richard Armitage as the surly French knight commanding his Baron father's equally surly men while throwing surly looks around all the time. This would have been a horribly dull and hard to watch movie if these guys didn't pull off these fairly typical medieval character archetypes well and it feels to me like they did.

Second, the action and set sequences were well done. I tend to be the kind of person who is immediately thrown off by a bad transition or a sequence of shots that just don't really work well together. I didn't see very much of that in this film. Granted, it's not difficult managing scene transition when most every scene is shot outdoors in Ireland but when the action happens, it's brutal and effective.

Third, symbolism. If you are someone who does not like it when a movie expects you to draw your own significance from the story it's trying to tell, this is not a movie you might like. Religion is a central theme in this movie and it is built on a foundation of symbolism that can be taken any number of different ways. If you like diving into the deeper meaning of things, you will actually love this movie. Especially how it ends.

Yes this film is bloody. For some the scenes might even be shocking, but I really enjoyed this film. Acting was good, the suspense build up was very good. And at no point did it seem the violence was unnecessary. If you enjoy historical type films and don't mind seeing a head bashed in close up, you will enjoy this.