Susan Granger’s review of “There Be Dragons” (Samuel Goldwyn Films)
As London-based investigative journalist Robert Torres (Dougray Scott) is researching a book about canonized priest Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer (Charlie Cox), the controversial founder of Opus Dei, he discovers that his primary source regarding the saint’s past is his estranged and now regretful father, Manolo Torres (Wes Bentley). Manolo was not only born in the same Spanish town as Josemaria, but they were childhood chums and attended the same seminary. However, as adults, their lives went in different directions. While spiritual Josemaria preached the gospel, Manolo became embroiled in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), falling in love with a fellow revolutionary, Ildiko (Olga Kurylenko), who – in turn – adores their daring leader, Oriol (Rodrigo Santoro).
As Oscar Wilde said, “Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.”
Unfortunately, the interweaving of these two turbulent, parallel storylines is fragmented and contrived, and forget it if you think you’re going to discover the mysterious secrets of the unorthodox and controversial Catholic brotherhood called Opus Dei (“God’s Work”), vilified in “The Da Vinci Code.” On all fronts, British writer/director Roland Joffe (“The Killing Fields,” “The Mission,” “City of Joy”) seriously misfires, not only in trying to explain the political ideology but also in exploring the men’s relationships. Sure there’s loyalty and duplicity, conspirators and traitors. But since the characters are never developed, you don’t much care about anyone, except perceptive a chocolate factory owner (Derek Jacobi).
Perhaps there’s a clue to the story’s opacity in knowing that two of the producers (Ignacio Gomez-Sancha and Ignacio Nunez) are members of Opus Dei. And the dragons of the title are strictly metaphorical, referring to the fire-breathing demons inside of each of us. Along with Joffe’s sweeping, epic tone in this parable of forgiveness, credit Eugenio Zanetti’s evocative production design, cinematographer Gabriel Beristain’s picturesque pageantry and Stephen Warbeck’s stirring score.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “There Be Dragons” is a fumbling 4 – unless you’re a devout Catholic who’s well-versed in Spanish history. I found watching it was like doing penance.
