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There Be Dragons

There Be Dragons (2011)

May. 06,2011
|
5.7
|
PG-13
| Drama History War

Arising out of the horror of the Spanish Civil War, a candidate for canonization is investigated by a journalist who discovers his own estranged father had a deep, dark and devastating connection to the saint's life.While researching the life of Josemaria Escriva, the controversial founder of Opus Dei, the young journalist Robert uncovers hidden stories of his estranged father Manolo, and is taken on a journey through the dark, terrible secrets of his family’s past.

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SoTrumpBelieve
2011/05/06

Must See Movie...

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Marketic
2011/05/07

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

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Bereamic
2011/05/08

Awesome Movie

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Lela
2011/05/09

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

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Shaolin_Apu
2011/05/10

While the film generally manages to avoid the worst pits, it still falls to some of them. The absolutely best thing about the film is, that it does not attempt to establish one side as the good side and the other as bad. The sentiment is fairly neutral, though it may be seen leaning more to Franco's side than to the Republican. It is also stated in the opening credits, that wars start long before the battles, and will end only long after those. Also true.The main characters appear to be fighting for both sides, and especially Kurylenko is doing a fine job. Other main characters include a good-willing Catholic priest who has to testify atrocities committed against the church. That the church is depicted as a victim, could be to some a 'refreshing alternative' in this contemporary context at least.This maybe sounds good to some, but unfortunately it does not seem that good. Many scenes are shot in dark, and at least I was totally confused what was going on then. Maybe it was a fault of my DVD and television set, but maybe it was not. Another annoying thing was the soundtrack that seemed to live its own life regardless of what was happening on the screen. I also wished that the film language had been Spanish and not English. Using English was a big loss of immersion for me.

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Ben Larson
2011/05/11

There are certainly people more qualified than I to review a film such as this. You may want to check out Fr. Dennis at the Movies and the Opus Dei website.I have always been fascinated with the Spanish Civil War, and it forms the background of this story of the founder of Opus Dei. It is appropriate, as director Roland Joffé of The Killing Fields and The Mission is experienced in showing the dark shadows where the light can shine forth. The story of Josemaria Escriva is just such a tale and, despite the fact that Joffe is an agnostic, he manages to show the true devotion of the man of God.The story is so much more, however. It is the story of repentance and forgiveness. Forgiveness that does not do so much for the one forgiven, as it does for the forgiver.

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Pizza_hut_delivery_guy
2011/05/12

Truly one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I appreciated the pacing and the strong story line - really, the plot is the star here. Not an epic film, but really well done and tremendously over rated. The acting is decent and the characters are believable, albeit not all are truly likable (but hey, I don't watch movies expecting to like the characters).The Spanish Civil War isn't a common setting for movies and I think it makes for an excellent backdrop. The bit about Opus Dei is also interesting. I was afraid the film was going to get a bit too religious for me, but fortunately it maintained the right balance. Definitely a must see!

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3xHCCH
2011/05/13

This is a movie that has been well-endorsed by the Catholic Church here in our country. It is supposed to deal with the life of a saint, St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of the controversial organization, the Opus Dei. I must admit that even if I had friends who were members of Opus Dei, I do not really know much about them or about their organization, only what I hear from the outside. I am mostly interested to learn the historical milieu of this film that is why I wanted to watch this.The story is told in flashbacks from the point of view of one Manolo Torres as his estranged son Robert interviews him about his friend Josemaria Escriva (who was then already on his way to becoming a saint in 1982). Manolo and Josemaria were childhood friends. Class differences broke up their friendship as the kids grew up. The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War broke them up even more, as Josemaria went into the priesthood and Manolo went with an anti-clerical militia group. Important revelations about Robert himself would also surface as his father begs for forgiveness for his past.It felt ironic that Escriva was not exactly the central character of this movie since all the publicity was about him. We do see the beginning of his organization of lay workers who lived together, much like today's Opus Dei centers. But other than that, Escriva was merely a side character in the main story of Manolo and his efforts to find redemption for his terrible decisions in his life. You will not really learn much detail about Escriva by watching this film, but you may be inspired to learn more about him. In fact, during the latter third of the film, the character of Escriva was not even on screen until the epilogue.The story was admittedly very slow to unfold (nearly two hours), but we are treated to some masterfully beautiful cinematography. I was excited to see the name of Roland Joffe as the director. It had certainly been a very long time since he gave us classics like "The Mission" and "The Killing Fields," and you can really see his classy touch here. For a film with heavy religious undertones, I was surprised to learn that Joffe was an agnostic. That may actually have been good for this film, as it did not go overboard with religious propaganda. The acting of the leads Wes Bently (as Manolo) and Charlie Cox (as Escriva) were proficient though a bit wooden. I also welcomed the unexpected presence of exotic Bond Girl Olga Kurilenko as Ildiko, the tragic woman in Manolo's life. I think this movie is worth the time to watch, and maybe even re-watch.

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