Review of There Be Dragons (2011) by Rebecca S — 08 May 2011

What makes a movie good for critics and what makes it a good movie are not necessarily the same thing. When I saw There Be Dragons in theaters, the technical flaws were glaring, and I left the theater with an uncertainty and displeasure.

This choppy, rather cliche film is art? But a few days later I find myself thinking back on the movie and remembering scenes of humor, scenes of affection, scenes of struggle. There Be Dragons has stayed with me and will stay with me because it portrays what is real.

No, maybe not Hollywood "real" nor critic "real," but real as in real life. Every person I have talked to who has seen There Be Dragons, from university students to parents to professors to police officers to grandparents, was struck by and remembers a different snipit of the movie.

For some it is Manolo and his son, for some it is the deep and attractive humanity of a saint, for some it is the struggle of living through war. We all can relate to a little bit of There Be Dragons.

And yes, relating a little bit to everyone makes the movie choppy. But life is choppy. So although There Be Dragons might not meet the standards of Hollywood, it meets the standards of life. And if you ask me, that's what matters.