This movie gets a star for the acting which was good , a bit screamy, but nevertheless unable to surmount the terrible costuming, hair, lighting, effects, drawn out plot and over the top pace of this mess. If you are Catholic and know a bit about San Ignacio's life you might enjoy the film despite the flaws as someone mentioned. If you know nothing about the saint's life and are curious, it might kindle your curiosity. But if you are looking for a well paced, well lit, well made period movie, this isn't it. The battle of Pamplona has some of the most ill-designed and badly executed battle scenes I've seen in a long time. Costuming is awful, so is hair and make up. But lighting wins the award for its flatness and lack of charm. A film that does not consistently rely on images to tell a story is a failure. Couldn't they at least have covered the -clearly- modern windows in Loyola's castle for this production with some banners? Did Ignacio's hair always remain the exact same length throughout his life? did Inquisitors really wear polyester? Was it always sunny everywhere? Beyond these obvious disasters which one might overlook because of budget concerns, there's the issue of pace and plot. I would rescue the scene with the reformed Igancio and the prostitute as an example of good acting and nuance. But the battle with the devil on top of the cliff is drawn-out, annoyingly theatrical and ultimately boring in its video game grandeur.
The movie chooses to focus on the beginnings of the Ignatian adventure when our hero prepares to sacrifice all for honor in war and to prove to himself that he is worthy of his name. We assume this was an important feature of being a nobleman. The French render Ignacio a cripple but he is lucky to escape alive. He endures excruciating pain by undergoing "surgery" a a time when penicillin and anesthesia were not yet invented. Pain and boredom throw him into a new quest for glory, the glory of God against its enemies -in this case the Protestant Reformation apparently. He gives away his wealth, sets off on a pilgrimage, becomes a beggar and practices self-torture in a cave until he rises as a "new man" after defeating the devil... as one does. Basically, he defeats the desire to throw himself of a cliff, an experience I could relate to, but here explained away in the easier to understand "battle against the Devil". Humans have to find somebody to blame when things go wrong. A very mild mannered Inquisition then starts objecting to all of Ignacio's good or weird deeds -as they should- and the rest history.
The worst part of the movie is that is is a poor vehicle for some worthy material. It tries to be many things , adventure, love story, drama and propaganda but it fails by its own reach. May be someone needs to go into the cave again.
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