Pilgrimage

A mix of cerebral religious drama and brutal action movie, this dark and extremely violent but also fascinating medieval tale centers on a journey that goes terribly wrong. The trek involves the transport of a precious relic from western Ireland to Rome, and it raises the question of whether such sacred totems deserve such devotion. In 1209 at a remote Irish monastery, a stone struck by lightning is venerated as being the one that killed Saint Matthias, the “13th apostle” who replaced Judas. When a Cistercian monk (Stanley Weber) appears in order to take the stone to the pope, the abbot assigns several members of his community—including a naïve young novice (Tom Holland) and a mute but strong servant (Jon Bernthal)—to accompany the reliquary to the coast. The journey is plagued by attacks from pagan Celts and the machinations of unscrupulous Christian knights, and the novice comes to question the Cistercian's insistence on completing the mission, which will require forcing the servant—an ex-Crusader trying to atone for his sins—to return to his violent life. Filmmaker Brendan Muldowney's Pilgrimage is notable for both its devotion to historical accuracy and its impressive Irish location filming, but while it raises substantive issues concerning religious belief, it also wants to be a gory action-adventure flick, and the two approaches don't successfully mesh. Still, this is an intriguing attempt to capture the contradictory spiritual and material realities of Europe's so-called age of faith. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “making-of” featurette (11 min.), behind-the-scenes featurettes on “Building an Army: The Visual & Make-Up Effects” (3 min.), “Sounds from the Past: The Languages & Music” (3 min.), “Setting the Scene: The Locations” (2 min.), and “The Dance of War: The Fight Choreography” (2 min.), and a photo and poster gallery. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus DVD copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a promising but uneven film.] (F. Swietek)