There are some reviews that won't do without spoilers. As this one, and since the bottom line reads, 'don't bother,' it's gonna spiked with them. Should you bother, don't expect to see an edifying depiction of the Spanish civil war. Starting with the purely dramatic aspect, you're in for an attempt of the sentimental that tries to follow in the footsteps of a number of past epics without ever succeeding. Every atrocity, every battle and every memorable scene of conflict desperately contrived to be one feels much like the flashbacks in other movies that only serve to clarify past events in order to drive on the plot, the music making it even worse and more unbelievable. Which would be bad enough. But the specific contents and their implications are simply uncomfortable, in an unwelcome sense. What is seen of murder and injustice is mainly committed by revolutionaries, e.g. the killings of priests, the unthinking mob-behavior against a single, wrongly accused. While one shouldn't doubt that each side in a civil war 'misbehaves', Franco's forces appear simply as an army in contrast and the only crimes on behalf of that side we see are committed by one of the two main protagonists, who in the end receives his personal absolution on the death bed, to sweetest music. The red rebells appear to a large part as the barbaric culprits. When this is not contrasted by what else happened the message is morally doubtful. No mentioning either that the pursue of priests had one of its roots in the catholic church indeed collaborating with Franco's regime. Does this excuse the killings? No. Does it help to make the rage a tad more understandable? Yes. But the movie doesn't intend to pay reference to what the above mentioned character called much more complicated. Latest with the end credits we know that it's a celebration of Josemaria Escriva, the founder of – Opus Dei??? Yes, indeed. And thus we follow the young priest through what the filmmakers intend to call his ordeals. Not that he has the opportunity to realize much action that makes his supposed later saintly status comprehensible. He flees, not that he shouldn't, hides, which is recommendable, crosses the Pyrenees, where the music reaches its intolerable climax. In between he has terrible moments of doubt, which perhaps moves us deeply if we are priests ourselves. To everyone who isn't but is still moved what is rather recommended is some scrutinizing of Opus Dei itself. So, what has ridden Mr. Joffe to hammer together this movie? Clearly blind catholic faith.
Review of There Be Dragons
