There Be Dragons
Living as we do in Hillsdale, Michigan, some eighty-five miles from civilization (if, of course, you consider Ann Arbor civilized), and being possessed of and by four young children, my wife and I see very few movies. Our television is an antique that no longer receives signals. We rent a video once in a while, but generally the only ones who watch it are our children. So for us to go out to a movie is a major event, and that is what we did last night, journeying to Ann Arbor to visit Trader Joe’s, pick up beer-making supplies, and have dinner at an Indian restaurant before going to a cinema in Ypsilanti to watch There Be Dragons – a film I can wholeheartedly recommend.
Set in Spain – before, for the most part during, and after that country’s devastating civil war – it was written and directed by Roland Joffé, who is best known for The Mission and The Killing Fields. It is a work of historical fiction, focused on juxtaposing the life of Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, with that of a fictional character, Manolo – who grew up in the same town as Escriva, knew him as a child, briefly attended seminary with him, and took a very different path on the eve of and during the civil war.
I will not reveal any more of the plot. It should be sufficient to say that it is riveting and that the tale told by Joffé, who is a religious agnostic, is never cloying, and, in its treatment both of religion and of the political divisions that beset twentieth-century Spain, it never descends to taking cheap shots. Visually, it is breath-taking. The acting is superb. Derek Jacobi is memorable in a minor role, as is Geraldine Chaplin. Charlie Cox as Escrivia and Wes Bentley as Manolo are fully convincing, and Olga Kurylenko (pictured below) is simply unforgettable.
Take a look at the trailers, and see whether you can find it at a cinema near you. That, alas, may be easier said than done. This is not the sort of film that the folks now pushing Bridesmaids are likely to want you to see. Moreover, all the usual suspects have sneered, and if you do not look out for yourself, those who hate the Christian religion – and Catholicism first and foremost – will succeed in preventing you from even having the opportunity to see this film on the big screen.
Here, for masochists with a taste for liberal bigotry in its pristine form, is Stephen Holden’s review in The New York Times:
Clunk, clunk, squish. That is the sound of the dead language in Roland Joffé’s screenplay for “There Be Dragons” as it tramples his would-be epic of the Spanish Civil War into an indigestible pulp. This calamitous film, written and directed by Mr. Joffé, the creator of “The Killing Fields” and “The Mission,” consists of two stories mashed into an interminable two-hour Sunday school sermon punctuated with battlefield carnage. Beyond the lugubrious pageantry, there is no sign of emotional or spiritual life in the film, only windy posturing.
Along with a poorly sketched history of the war, portraying it as a fight between Communists and fascists with the priesthood caught in the middle, is a fawning biography of Josemaría Escrivá (Charlie Cox), the founder of the Roman Catholic organization Opus Dei. Canonized as a saint in 2002, he is shown as a bespectacled, unnaturally cheerful goody-good who suffers a mild crisis of faith from which he emerges with a broader smile than ever. When his fellow Opus Dei members lose their tempers, he gently reminds them of the need for forgiveness, and they immediately calm down.
The glue loosely cementing the film’s parts is the invented tale of a lifelong rivalry between this future saint and his childhood best friend, Manolo (Wes Bentley). (The young Josemaría and Manolo are played by Juan Cruz and Felipe Agote.) The first sign that their friendship is about to turn sour is a taste test in a chocolate factory in which the boys are asked to identify a particular flavoring. Manolo guesses almond and Josemaría cinnamon. When Josemaría wins, Manolo never gets over it.
The test leads to a scene in which Josemaría is handed a chocolate bean and lectured about the hard work it takes “to release its divine flavors.” A bell goes off, and the words “pretentious metaphor” are flashed onto the screen.
Oh, if only. ...
Before all this there is a tortuous framing device in which Manolo’s son Robert (Dougray Scott), commissioned to write a book about Josemaría, tries to interview his estranged father (Mr. Bentley in grotesque old-man makeup), who is near death, about his relationship with Josemaría. Only at the end of the story does the dying man give his son tapes that explain everything, followed by a never-ending deathbed scene that culminates with another grandiose homily about forgiveness.
Most of the story, told in flashbacks, unfolds in unwieldy blocks. Manolo, born into wealth and told by his father always to pick the winning side, becomes a fascist spy who infiltrates the Republican guerrillas and lusts after Ildiko (Olga Kurylenko), a Hungarian revolutionary who is in love with the Republican military leader, Oriol (Rodrigo Santoro). A look of glowering petulance is the sole expression Mr. Bentley wears throughout the film as he observes the revolutionary sweethearts cozying up to each other.
As a visual spectacle in the David Lean tradition, “There Be Dragons” at least makes the most of its relatively modest reported budget of $35 million. The Battle of Madrid, rumbling across the screen, evokes a visceral response, and scenes of the Republican guerrillas being mowed down by low-swooping fascist air power give you that roller-coaster kick. But with no real characters, only mouthpieces, nothing is at stake. “There Be Dragons” belongs to a realm devoid of flesh and blood, where vacuous oratory reigns and religiosity passes for faith.
Take Holden's review with you if and when you go to the film, re-read it afterwards, and you will get a sense of the degree to which the legacy press has dedicated itself to closing down public debate and silencing those, such as Roland Joffé, inclined to raise awkward questions – for most of the other reviews of the film read like knock-offs of Holden’s effort. That is the way pack journalism works. Pravda on the Hudson sets the tone, and everyone else falls in line.
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Jan '11
Re: There Be Dragons
Yahoo Users are giving it an A- !
Feb '11
Re: There Be Dragons
Sounds interesting & definitely different, I will check it out.
Paul, if you're interested in Spain and its Civil War, you might enjoy (if that's the word) "The Forging of a Rebel" by Arturo Barea. My review is here.
Re: There Be Dragons
david foster: Sounds interesting & definitely different, I will check it out.
Paul, if you're interested in Spain and its Civil War, you might enjoy (if that's the word) "The Forging of a Rebel" by Arturo Barea. My review is here. · May 8 at 6:26pm
Many thanks.
May '10
Re: There Be Dragons
I saw it a week or so ago and was disappointed. I thought that of the three major themes, the two that were most interesting (to me at least) were least developed. The one that was most developed was fictional and not really credible.
I would dearly love to see a more nuanced and convincing treatment of the Spanish Civil War. And I would dearly love to know more of the real story of Escriva and Opus Dei.
I'd also like a deeper and more nuanced treatment of the problem of forgiveness and its relation to truth and justice.
Apr '11
Re: There Be Dragons
I'll be looking for the movie, but, as in Hillsdale, here in central Ohio the theaters go for the safe and profitable rather than the provocative.
As far as the press is concerned...locally our reviewer is consistent enough that those movies he detests seem, to me at least, to be the best views!
As to the attitude of the press toward Christianity...it isn't that the Bible is "unbelievable", rather it is that those "outside" don't want to believe. Perhaps because of the introspection it brings! For them no proof or miracle is ever enough! For the believer, none is really needed!
May '10
Re: There Be Dragons
I saw it last night and enjoyed it. However, I do feel the need to confess that I really had no pre-conceived idea of what the film was about. I just saw the title, heard the same guy who made "The Mission" and "The Killing Fields" made the movie and couldn't wait to see it. Will you think less of me when I tell you I expected it to be an epic fantasy with real dragons? As soon as the words "based on a true story" came up, I realized how wrong I was. Stupid, false advertising title... :-\
Nevertheless, I really did enjoy the film. What struck me in the first part of the film is that while I am not Roman Catholic, I was raised pentecostal, I saw a lot of similarities. One particular similarity is the resistance Escrivá encountered when he envisioned a community of believers living out their faith without necessarily having to be ordained in the priesthood. I've seen that a lot in protestant, especially pentecostal circles. There seems to be a odd view that one can only truly serve God with your life if you've been set apart.
May '10
Re: There Be Dragons
Like Katie, I felt the movie was not fully coherent. There were good scenes. The theme of forgiveness was beautiful and important. However, the movie as a whole seemed to be missing some glue.
Would I recommend it? Oh yes! Is it Oscar award winning material like "The Mission?" Not really. But I'm sure it's a much better movie pick than the next sex romp where the main characters just want to have meaningless sex and then discover they actually want to have a relationship. "There Be Dragons" would be a much better pick!