There Be Dragons (2011/Fox Blu-ray)
Picture:
A- Sound: B+ Extras: C Film: B+
Journalist
Robert Torres is ordered to write an article on the renowned priest, Father
Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei. Strangely enough, Robert's Father has some
personal past connection to Josemaria and started opening a dialog with Robert
after not speaking to each other over the last eight years. As he uncovers the truth of the past through
documents and letters left behind, his father has a confession to make... that
he was Josemaria's childhood friend and the secrets behind his birth and the
shocking truth of his lineage which leads to something much more surprising in
Roland Joffé’s Spanish Civil War tale There
Be Dragons.
This story is basically about a man's father and his best friend, though born
in the same town and attending the same seminary, two young boys turned out so
differently, one was the son of an upper-class society, another the son of poor
textile factory owner. Class division
plays into this, but with the impending war suddenly splitting their nation
into different factions, questioning 'Who's side are you on?' Josemaria, a
priest and pacifist continued to preach love, caring, and forgiveness even as
his fellow priests were being executed in the streets, skewing that
division somewhat. Meanwhile, Robert's
father became a mole and an executioner for the military regime, but even more
shocking was when Robert discovers the truth about whom his real father was...
The result is still an age old tale of the prodigy son, two friends who had
gone down different paths with a different ideologies of life. One man
blessed with wealth and money, but with all his power and influence he could
find no happiness, and his friend who became a poor priest lived a life of
suffering, persecution and hardship became a symbol, inspiration of hope. As they ended up on opposite sides of the war,
it was only on death's door did he realize the mistakes of a lifetime and asks
for forgiveness.
That
every man must face his 'Dragons' someday, a meaning a man must face and fight
his own desires, that a man's greatest enemy is himself, but it plays out with
a certain freshness here, so this is definitely worth catching up with. It can also be considered a comeback of sorts
for director Joffé, whose career has been in freefall in recent years. The cast includes Charlie Cox, Wes Bentley,
Dougray Scott, Derek Jacobi, Geraldine Chaplin, Olga Kurylenko, Rodrigo Santoro
and Charles Dance.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 AVC @ 34 MBPS digital High Definition image looks fine, shot in the
Super 35mm film format by Director of Photography Gabriel Beristain, A.S.C.,
B.S.C., (Dolores Claiborne, the two
sequels to Blade) in some of his
best work to date. The DTS-HD MA (Master
Audio) 5.1 lossless mix is also very well recorded and including ambience is
well mixed and has a consistent presentation overall. Extras include deleted scenes, testimony from
Wes Bentley and trailers.
- Ricky Chiang
