1930年代後半のスペイン。ヒトラー率いる左派ファシズムとスターリン側の右派共産主義に別れ第二次世界大戦の代理戦争となる内戦が開始されていた。父を共産主義者に殺された青年マノロは神学校を辞め、左派ファシズムのスパイに転進を図る。幼馴染のホセマリアは心から彼を案じ、神の道に進む決意を新たにする。マノロは、共和国側の革命を目指す若者が集まる演説会場に出向き、若き指導者のオリオールと美しいハンガリーの娘、イルディコと親交を深め 人民戦線の民兵として潜入に成功、激しい前線を命を削りながら戦う日々を送る。しかしそれは憎しみから出る信念なき戦いであった。一方、ホセマリアは、神父として民の心の支えになって生きていたが、内戦をきっかけに激しい反宗教的迫害にあっていた。しかし右派から命を狙われても、自らの信念を曲げず地下に潜り信仰を続ける日々を送っていた。まるで正反対の人生を歩む2人だったが、激しくなる戦火の中、複雑に運命は絡み合い遂に命を狙う側と狙われる側として再会してしまう。
AIが作品の魅力を深く読み解いています
監督: Roland Joffé
脚本: Roland Joffé
音楽: Stephen Warbeck
制作: Roland Joffé
撮影監督: Gabriel Beristain
制作会社: ransom films / Atresmedia
Story about Opus Dei's founder which advocates about his work through a much incoherent parallel story of the crimes committed during the Spanish Civil War and the today's stormy relationship of a son and his father. Most of the performing is pretty bad, maybe also empowered by the clear difficulties that many of the Spanish actors have to do so in English and their strong accent when speaking.
Hmmm. Well “Reign of Fire” it isn’t, nor is there even a fellow called “Pete” with a cave - so if you are after a fantasy adventure then maybe not. If you are looking for a slightly messy history-cum-religious story of the acclaimed “Opus Dei” founding Spanish revolutionary priest, then maybe stick with it. Charlie Cox takes on the priestly role as Josemaria Escrivá who is being investigated on the instructions of Pope John Paul II - he is a prime candidate for canonisation. It was cannon of another sort, though, that this journalist discovers played much more of a role in the life of many people in a civil war riven Spain as his subject tried to established his more universal church. He is Roberto Torres (Dougray Scott) who’s terminally declining father (Manolo) is in an hospital bed. Their relationship is strained at best, and as the plot develops we learn a little more about what caused that as well as of his father’s relationship with the man he is to evaluate and of his activist mother “Leila” (Golshifteh Faharani). The flashbacks illustrate the conflicting lives of Torres and Escrivá as they adopt different approaches to the strife and the latter has to keep his profession under wraps for fear of persecution, or worse, from the communists who saw the church as complicit in the Franco-led deposition of the elected government. It is a good looking drama this, and there are a few scenes early on featuring Charles Dance and Sir Derek Jacobi that suggest we might be in for something a little more substantial, but sadly neither Charlie Cox nor Wes Bentley - as the young Manolo Torres, really have much weight to put behind a story of two undoubtedly brave and troubled men. The narrative darts about too much and presents us with an all too superficial glimpse of not just these characters, but also of the entire wartime scenario. It’s an hybrid of too many storylines and doesn’t really do any of them justice and after a while the effects of the cheery smile of Cox started to wear thin. It looks like it would be a story worth the telling, but there are just too many disjointed roles and dodgy Spanish accents to make this special. Sorry.
