Pilgrimage (2017)

Pilgrimage (2017) is a movie that has recently arrived in select theaters across the country.

Currently, in the Philadelphia area, it is playing only at the AMC Voorhees, in Jersey.

I actually saw this movie via Comcast On-Demand.

This movie is a period piece.  It tells the story of a band of monks that travel the countryside of Middle Ages Ireland (circa early 1200s) in a quest to deliver their most precious relic to their shores to a boat to France (and then Rome). The relic transported is the stone that killed St. Matthias (the apostle of Jesus Christ, who was elected to replaced Judas) during his martyrdom in the first century A.D., around 80 A.D.

One aspect to mention up-front is that in keeping with the realism of the time period, multiple languages are spoken by the characters.  We have Gaelic, French, and English here.  English is used as a substitute for the more period-appropriate Latin by the filmmakers, as a concession to modern audiences no doubt.

The film stars Tom Holland (fresh off his roles as Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) as a young, impressionable, novice monk named Brother Diarmuid.

Co-starring Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield in the Hobbit films) as Raymond De Merville, a French knight of noble birth, and Jon Bernthal as The Mute, a lay brother of the monks with a secret, violent past who may or may not be a former Crusader.

This is a great story of an adventure quest, slow-moving at times, but unpredictable with it's various plot-twists.

The film has quite a few scenes of graphic violence, but these are scenes are all valuable to the overall plot and make sense, due to the violent time period we find ourselves in whilst watching the goings-on in the film.

I have read of this film as a story of ambition and faith, and how faith can be usurped by ambition.  I would agree that this is an accurate view of this film's message.

I really appreciate the performances of the various actors in this film, particularly Jon Berthal.  Fans of The Walking Dead tv series will be reminded of his violent performance of the erstwhile Shane in that series, in this movie.

What I find quite refreshing in this movie is the originality displayed. It is rare that we get a glimpse of ancient Ireland, when Christianity dominated Europe (as told to us right off the bat, via onscreen subtitles.) This is also a time when paganism, and pagan, primitive, warrior tribes, existed side-by-side in a precarious existence with Christianity.

The ending is a bit ambiguous, and abrupt.  I will not spoil it , but suffice it to say, it is open to interpretation.

This movie is ably directed by Brendan Muldowney, best known for the critically-acclaimed Savage (2009) which according to IMDB is a story of "an explanation of masculinity and violence."

This picture is shot on-location on the west coast of Ireland, and the Ardennes region of Belgium.

Some of the locations in particular from the beginning of the film, remind me of the scenes shot on the Irish island of Skellig Michael from Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).  We see some clachan-type beehive cells in the background at one point early on.

I recommend this movie to not just anyone, but those particularly with an interest in faith/religion, ancient Ireland, and/or the Middle Ages.