Last Friday in Spain we saw the opening weekend release for “There Be Dragons”, the new film from acclaimed and twice Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind “The Mission” and “The Killing Fields”. Budgeted at $35 million, the co-production between Spain, U.S and Argentina the film proved to be a moderate success already before its release as it grossed an impressive 300 000 Euros in pre-sold tickets, although we have to take in consideration big part of these tickets were part of a charity campaign for Doctors Without Borders as well as other non benefit organizations, a clever marketing campaign no doubt benefited the film’s tally.
Starring Charlie Cox (Stardust, Casanova); Wes Bentley (American Beauty, Ghost Rider); Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace, Max Payne); Derek Jacobi (Gladiator, La Brújula Dorada); Dougray Scott (Mission Impossible II, Ever After), Rodrigo Santoro (300, Che), Golshifteh Farahani (Body of Lies) and Geraldine Chaplin; this also has a first rate crew in Academy award nominated folk as Art Director Eugenio Zanetti (Restoration, What Dreams May Come), Costume Designer Yvonne Blake (What Dreams May Come) is the costume designer, Make-Up Designer Michele Burke (Quest for Fire, Dracula and Editor Richard Nord (The Fugitive). The Director of Photography is Gabriel Beristain (Caravaggio) and the film’s producers are Ignacio Gómez-Sancha, Roland Joffé and Ignacio Núñez.
The film tells the story of London-based investigative journalist Robert Torres, who visits Spain to research a book about Josemaría Escrivá , the controversial founder of Opus Dei. But, Robert hits a wall, both professionally and personally, when his most promising source—his own father, Manolo Torres turns out to be his least cooperative one. Robert begins to unearth his father’s toxic secrets when he learns that Manolo was not only born in the same Spanish town as Josemaría, but, that they were childhood friends and attended the same seminary. The two men take radically different paths in life, with Josemaría dedicating his life to his faith while Manolo is swept into the brutal and tumultuous Spanish Civil War. Manolo descends into a dangerous and jealous obsession when the beautiful Hungarian revolutionary Ildiko doesn’t return his affections and instead gives herself to the courageous military leader, Oriol.
About the polemic subject matter Joffé got on board providing he had full creative freedom and would not be expected to follow any party lines. “I’ll do the best I can,” he said, “but I have to follow my own truth.” to which producer Ignacio Gómez – Sancha agreed “Roland is kind of a humanistic Renaissance man, and he’s very honest…” “…I’ve always liked the idea that if you’re going to tell the story of someone who is, say very left wing, that someone who is neutral or right wing should do it. Because if someone of the same ideological approach does it, it’s going to be biased in a way, or at least be considered biased. So I think it’s fantastic that Roland, who’s an agnostic, been married three times and a socialist cause in his youth, should be the one making a film about a saint of the Catholic Church.”
The film will open in the U.S on May 6th with 700 copies, not bad for a limited release.