I never knew there's such a movie until a month ago when I paid for a Prime subscription. Haha. I enjoyed watching it even if sometimes the scenes are not too exciting nor modern.
This movie, Ignatius of Loyola, was released in 2016 but I've never heard or seen it before. Sad huh? I was probably too busy working at the time, as usual.
Anyway guess what shocked me when I watched this movie back in September. Haha.
✨ Some Cast Members
Andreas Muñoz plays Iñigo de Loyola
A noble soldier who got wounded during the war. Eventually he became known as Ignatius.
Javier Godino as Xanti
A cousin of Ignatius, also a soldier like him.
Julio Perillán plays Father Sanchez
A priest who knew Ignatius as a soldier who then defended him afterwards when he had to.
✨ The Trailer / Synopsis
From IMDb:
'If you could hear the voice of God, would you want to keep it secret?' A historical drama based on the memoirs of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order. This is the story of a soldier, a man of vice and violence who, in his attempt to turn to the light, was forced to wrestle with his inner demons to the very brink of death.
✨ 
's Review
I was not familiar with the protagonist before I watched the movie. Perhaps I've heard of St. Ignatius of Loyola before but I didn't really know anything about him. So when I watched this I really got to know who he was. Really does a good job in showing us who this saint was.
◙ Characters & Story
It starts with his story as a soldier then moves on to how he became a real, practicing Catholic. The narrative makes sense too. It makes the beginnings of being a saint seem easier than what we usually think.
Character development is commendable because hey, we see someone turn from sinner to a saint! Not only that, the other characters in the story have their own drive, hopes and dreams so you can sometimes even identify with them as well!
The range of characters introduced are from prostitutes and beggars to a princess and members of the Inquisition! Makes for an interesting story does it not?
Iñigo and Princess Catalina (Catherine of Aragon) | source
The best part of the story I think was his fight with depression or perhaps the devil/demons whispering to him. Of course we can all relate to such "madness". I love how they portrayed it, very artistic.
However in terms of being truly moving and inspirational, it pales in comparison to For Greater Glory. Doesn't have that much oomph to make you very emotional while watching it. It's also somewhat behind Father Stu in terms of being inspiring on how he completely changed his life. I believe it's a bit better than the Fatima movie, not too bad and still entertaining!
But definitely it's so much better than There Be Dragons or Vaincre ou mourir (Vanquish or Die).
Overall the film made me want to watch it again. Haha. And I just did today, I found a Spanish dubbed version online. 😆 Heck if I can I might even try to visit the featured Montserrat monastery!
Anyway do you know what shocked, or actually surprised me the most? When I saw the end credits, I found out this was actually produced by Filipinos! Whoa! 😱
◙ Acting
I never noticed anything Filipino about it because the quality is commendable plus the lead actor is really admirable! Nothing overly dramatic going on at all. It's not obvious that it's a local production as it was mainly shot in Spain.
I even love how the Spanish actors spoke in English. 😆 Was easy to understand even with their authentic Spanish accent.
The beauty of this film is in the theatrical performance of the actors. 😍 After all theater actors really are somewhat different than typical TV or movie actors.
Just goes to show that the director and the entire production team did an excellent job in handling a foreign crew and a big film project like this.
◙ Cinematography, Production Design & Music
Costumes and set design doesn't suck at all. At least I don't think so but am no expert on historical clothing and stuff. 😆 The make up is really good, especially the blood, the wounds and such. The few CGI renditions were okay as well, not too bad.
Iñigo as a child. | source
There are scenes with dancing and music as well. Makes the film well rounded and entertaining enough. The best part of it all is the music! Oh my goodness. Mr. Ryan Cayabyab can really make wonderful pieces! ❤️
Here's one of them, Dance with Catalina:
✨ Rating
In truth, I never knew such a quality movie was made by Filipinos! Whoa. Haha. It really surprised me to learn that this was produced locally!
Of course it's not perfect but overall I can say this is a well made movie worth watching. It will make you curious about St. Ignatius' spiritual exercises too. 😁
St. Ignatius in the Montserrat monastery. | source
So, let me now give you my movie rating.
- Characters & Story: 8
- Acting: 9
- Cinematography, Production Design & Music: 9
Final Rating: 8.67 👍
It's definitely worth watching because of the quality of the visuals, the music and the story itself!
Have you seen this movie yet? What do you think of it?
XOXO,