There Be Dragons

 

 

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This film is `inspired by true events', and as such takes quite a lot of poetic licence. The story begins with Robert, a journalist, (Dougray Scott) being asked to investigate the life of Jose Maria Escriva (Charlie Cox), as he is about to be Canonised. He discovers that his estranged father went to the same seminary as him and so uses it as an excuse to reconnect with his dying patriarch.

The story then starts to be told in flash back and we start around 1911 when the two boys were friends. It turns out that his father knows a lot more than most and all of their lives are sort of intertwined. The real story takes place during The Spanish Civil War (1936 -39) where Manolo (Roberts dad played by Wes Bentley) gets involved with both sides in the fighting.

The story of the War is told in tandem with that of Jose Maria as he becomes the modern founder of Opus Dei and does charitable works and faces many threats; being a Priest he is particularly susceptible to summary execution at the hands of the Republicans/Communists/Socialists/Anarchists or what ever you want to call the `legitimate Government'.

This is written and directed by Roland Joffe (`The Mission' and `The Killing Fields') and had a fairly big budget that was actually quite well spent. The battle scenes are effective, with good CGI where it is used. The direction is excellent and the acting is all above par. But the narrative drives this and as ever there are some stretches of belief required a couple of times. To say any more would be a plot spoiler. It is also just over two hours long, but it does not feel like a long film and I thought it ended quite quickly as I was up for more. So despite the few flaws this is really rather good. Despite the subject matter this is all in English, although there are attempts at Spanish accents. There are a couple of cameos from Charles Dance and Derek Jacobi too.

This may not be Joffe's best film but is far from being a bad one. If you are an historically accurate fan there will be things to take issue with, but if you want a rather original film set against the background of a tragic episode in World history then this should be one to get.

This movie not only had an excellent plot but also had great acting and effects. I am surprised that this movie did not get more attention whenit was released.

The movie was awefully pretentious and full of historical lies.
The clergy openly supported fascism, even asking Hitler and Mussolini for support and still apologetic about their Conquest of Latin America.
I loved the Directors "The Killing Fields" as one of the best movies I've seen.
I didn't expect to be led into such a movie fiasco.
Also to portrait of two characters under such incredible human stress failed to convince me about their actions in the film.
The acting was shallow and the scenes loaded with klischees.
Also if you are not familiar with the spanisch civil war, like most viewers will be, how could he possibly believe that such a complex and stirring conflict
could be understood by an unsuspecting audience.
Realistically, this is two movies. One about the writer and his father. One about Opus Dei. The two stories are related by the thinnest of threads and the relation doesn't actually need to be there at all.
I think the story about father and son, Monolo and Robert, would have been worth pursuing in more depth. The reason behind their rift is only alluded to and not explored terribly well, and their spontaneous reconciliation at the end felt forced. Deus ex machina. Perhaps a bit literally.
Meanwhile, the story about Josemaria Escriva -- I can't understand why Joffe didn't show him walking on water as he did just about everything else. I found that this felt like a really nice public relations piece for Opus Dei. I guess the Church and Joffe felt they'd taken enough hits from Dan Brown and needed some positive spin.
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Of what I write now, is in response to the negative feedback I seem to catch, therefore I like to clarify a few points, to enforce my opinion:
First of all, this movie polarizes viewers, you either love it or hate it.
I hate it, because i believe it is trying to rewrite history. I'm not gonna tolerate lies.
I watched this movie with the hope, that it would reconcile the catholic church at the time of the spanish civil war.
Like other very good movies have done:
La Forja de un rebelde, LIBERTARIAS, LAND AND FREEDOM, Five Cartridges (Fünf Patronenhülsen) (1965).
And than there is another movie, that will be posted soon : Los jinetes de Alba, another movie about the spanish civil war, and the catholic church, from a spanish director.
The spanish have produced quite a view movies and tv miniseries during the last few years, trying to reconcile this tragic period.
The catholic church of spain was well behind in times that concerned women's rights. Intellectual spanish women felt marginalized and deeply discriminated under their clerical authorities.
They deeply felt a war waged against them. The spanish republic changed all that in the 1936 election, and transported spain into the age of modern civil rights.
When the spanish military, supported by the facist leader Mussolini, and the nazi leader Adolf Hitler, staged their coup de etat, the catholic church did not hesitate, to put their support
behind the spanish fascist military, with their leader Franco. There are documents that the clergy did not even hesitate do go behind their call of duty, even took on arms against their flocks.
Now, I wonder why the director of this film, gets away without mentioning any of this ?

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