Review of There Be Dragons (2011) by Christy — 14 May 2011

I strongly recommend this movie, despite agreeing with some of the professional critics' negative observations. The dialogue was stilted in places, the Spanish accents uneven, and the fictional storyline a bit formulaic.

But there is a lot going on at a deeper level, which makes it worth seeing more than once (as others have noted). It's one of those movies that I've found stays with me for several days after viewing it -- scenes or lines will come to mind at what seem like random times, but when I think about it, I can see and actually use the connection.

I would have liked Manolo to be a more balanced character so as to sympathize with his suffering and regret. Roberto and Leila, I thought, were annoyingly trite. But Charlie Cox's Josemaria was irresistible, which helped me to understand how he could have attracted so many people to his vision of the Christian life.

I found it supremely refreshing to see Christianity and especially the Catholic priesthood portrayed positively in a Hollywood production. Reviews that criticize the movie for not being forthright about Escriva's support for Franco and Opus Dei's secrecy seem prejudiced: maybe they don't come through because they are, in fact, not true.

I think it's interesting and also a shame, that whenever something is put forward in a favorable light, someone behind it is assumed to have a self-serving agenda. As Josemaria said, "God's world is so full of goodness".

...even when there is war and suffering. Other movies I've seen this year took me out of my life for a couple of hours and made me feel good; this one took me more deeply into my life and gave me inspiration to actually be good.

Speaking for myself, I'd rather pay $13 for the later.