Review of There Be Dragons (2011) by Paul K — 23 Dec 2011

Taken in isolation from any knowledge of the background story, this is quite a good film. We were absorbed by it, and engaged with the main characters. The scripting works, and the story unfolds well. The recreation of the Civil War is plausible if narrow - only those aspects mundane to the story are explored.

It's only on further reading that we found out a little more about the motivations of the film makers, and the 'dual track' publicity it received. There is also a debate about the nature of Opus Dei - but the film itself, taken apart from the religious politics, has a good message about the values of love and forgiveness.