Website after movie inspired by St. Josemaria

AN interactive website has been built to support the message of the film “There Be Dragons,” from Oscar award-nominated director Roland Joffé.

The film inspired by the life of St. Josemaria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei, opens in Philippine cinemas Nov. 9.

The movie was written and directed by Joffé, whose previous works include “The Killing Fields” and “The Mission.”

Set in the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, the period film tells the story of two childhood friends, Manolo Torres and Josemaría Escrivá, whose lives take on radically different directions that come to a head during the war.

Escrivá followed the path of faith, while Torres was swept into the turbulence of the conflict. But each had to face his own dragons: Escrivá, fear and doubt; Torres, envy, jealousy and hatred.

Putting them together is Joffé’s way of showing that “even saints have a past and even sinners have a future.” Everyone has to face up to “dragons” inside them and the first step is to slay these, movie promoters said.

The new interactive portal is an attempt to “help others discover and overcome the dragons in their lives” by spreading the message of the film. It describes itself as an online community advocating cinema as a tool for change. An Inquirer newspaper report said it can be a very good teaching resource for subjects that have to do with value formation or civics.

Dragons

Visit the Dragons portal