Review of There Be Dragons (2011) by Walter T — 13 May 2011

In terms of pure entertainment, I can understand why the movie isn't getting great reviews. It doesn't offer much in the way of (as the cinemas promise before the feature begins) "refreshing escape.

" But it seems to me that it isn't meant to be one. The themes of redemption through suffering and forgiveness, and the divine aspect of ordinary life, would be wasted if audiences came out of the theater having only been entertained.

That said, I would like to have seen more complexity: I wish Manolo hadn't been so thoroughly bad, and that Josemaria had been shown struggling to be saint. Still, details of scenes and lines of dialogue have stuck with me and seem to be making some concrete differences in my life and relationships.

And I've learned something about the Spanish Civil War, which was completely ignored by my high school history classes.