There Be Dragons (2011) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A son's investigation into Josemaría and the Spanish conflict becomes a painful search for understanding and reconciliation with his father.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

A Son Opens Old Wounds

Robert receives a commission to write about Josemaría and returns to Madrid after years of silence with Manolo. Files from the 1950s reopen the history of their family and the Spanish conflict.

Key Events

• Military Uprising Begins — The story opens during a military uprising, with soldiers ordered to surrender and fire. Characters: Robert Location: Spain
• Robert Explains His Heritage — Robert explains that Manolo was forced to choose a side and carried the consequences. Characters: Robert, Manolo Location: Spain
• The Commission Arrives — Robert is commissioned to write a book about the deceased priest Josemaría. Characters: Robert, Josemaría Location: Unspecified
• Return To Madrid — After eight years without speaking to Manolo, Robert returns to Madrid. Characters: Robert, Manolo Location: Madrid
• Files From The Past — Manolo begins sending Robert old files dating from the 1950s. Characters: Robert, Manolo Location: Madrid

Two Men Choose Sides

The investigation reveals Josemaría as a young seminarian opposed to Manolo's ruthless pragmatism. Their conflicting beliefs emerge as political violence begins to shape private lives.

Key Events

• Files From The Past — Manolo begins sending Robert old files dating from the 1950s. Characters: Robert, Manolo Location: Madrid
• Robert Investigates — Robert uses documents and conversations to investigate Josemaría and Manolo's past. Characters: Robert, Josemaría, Manolo Location: Madrid
• Seminarian Meets Careerist — Young seminarian Josemaría clashes with Manolo, whom he considers ruthless and privileged. Characters: Josemaría, Manolo Location: Spain
• Manolo Chooses Power — Manolo believes that a man must choose the winning side during political conflict. Characters: Manolo Location: Spain
• A Religious Movement Forms — Josemaría and other priests establish a religious movement called Opus Dei. Characters: Josemaría Location: Spain

Mercy Amid Retaliation

Josemaría and other priests establish Opus Dei and serve sick and poor people. After violence causes a personal loss, revenge and abduction test Josemaría's insistence on forgiveness.

Key Events

• A Religious Movement Forms — Josemaría and other priests establish a religious movement called Opus Dei. Characters: Josemaría Location: Spain
• Service To The Vulnerable — Josemaría and the movement try to serve sick and poor ordinary people. Characters: Josemaría Location: Spain
• Political Violence Escalates — Political violence grows, turning broader ideological divisions into personal consequences. Characters: Josemaría, Manolo Location: Spain
• A Family Is Struck — A Communist strike kills Pedro's father, intensifying the demand for revenge. Location: Spain
• Revenge Takes Shape — Pedro seeks revenge and abducts a suspected enemy during the war. Location: Spain
• Josemaría Rejects Hatred — Josemaría rejects using religion to incite hatred and calls for forgiveness even toward murderers. Characters: Josemaría Location: Spain

The Accusation Against Ildiko

Ildiko is accused of treason after being found with a radio. Oriol must confront an execution order while believing that the evidence against the woman he loves was planted.

Key Events

• Josemaría Rejects Hatred — Josemaría rejects using religion to incite hatred and calls for forgiveness even toward murderers. Characters: Josemaría Location: Spain
• A Priest Is Killed — A priest is killed in the fighting, forcing Josemaría's companions to face their anger. Characters: Josemaría Location: War zone in Spain
• Ildiko Is Accused — Ildiko is accused of treason after being found with a radio. Characters: Ildiko, Oriol Location: Spain
• Oriol Faces An Order — Oriol is pressured to execute Ildiko but believes the evidence was planted. Characters: Ildiko, Oriol Location: Spain
• The Safe Conduct Pass — A safe-conduct pass found on Oriol proves Ildiko may have been connected to the enemy. Characters: Ildiko, Oriol Location: Spain

A Father Faces The Past

The wartime investigation gives way to Manolo's apparent deathbed crisis. Robert is pushed to overcome his bitterness and recognize that the search for Josemaría has also been a path toward his father.

Key Events

• The Safe Conduct Pass — A safe-conduct pass found on Oriol proves Ildiko may have been connected to the enemy. Characters: Ildiko, Oriol Location: Spain
• Manolo Enters Hospital — Manolo is taken to a hospital and appears to be dying. Characters: Robert, Manolo Location: Hospital
• Bitterness Must End — Robert is told that he must finally overcome his bitterness toward his father. Characters: Robert, Manolo Location: Hospital
• Understanding Through Memory — Robert's search for Josemaría becomes an opportunity to understand and reconcile with Manolo. Characters: Robert, Manolo, Josemaría Location: Hospital

Story Breakdown

• War And Inheritance — The military uprising establishes the historical violence that shapes Robert's family history.
  • Military Uprising — The story opens with soldiers receiving orders to surrender and fire.
  • Inherited Consequences — Robert explains that Manolo was forced to choose a side and lived with the consequences.
• Robert's Investigation — A professional assignment brings Robert back to Madrid and into his father's past.
  • Book Commission — Robert is commissioned to write about the deceased priest Josemaría.
  • Returned Files — Manolo sends Robert old files from the 1950s after years of silence.
• Josemaría And Manolo — Their early clash presents the film's central opposition between moral compassion and political pragmatism.
  • Seminarian's Judgment — Josemaría sees Manolo as a privileged and ruthless careerist.
  • Winning Side — Manolo believes survival requires choosing the winning side.
• Service And Faith — Josemaría responds to violence by building a movement centered on service and human dignity.
  • Opus Dei Forms — Josemaría and other priests establish a religious movement called Opus Dei.
  • Care For Others — The movement serves ordinary people, including the sick and the poor.
• Revenge And Forgiveness — Personal loss turns political conflict into a test of whether hatred will govern human action.
  • Retaliatory Abduction — After a family loss, revenge leads to the abduction of a suspected enemy.
  • Mercy Against Hatred — Josemaría insists that even murderers must be treated as human beings and forgiven.
• Ildiko's Dangerous Accusation — A radio and wartime suspicion place Ildiko's life in Oriol's hands.
  • Radio Evidence — Ildiko is accused of treason after being found with a radio.
  • Oriol's Dilemma — Oriol is pressured to execute Ildiko while believing the evidence was planted.
• A Father's Reckoning — Manolo's apparent deathbed crisis transforms Robert's historical inquiry into a personal moral reckoning.
  • Hospital Crisis — Manolo is taken to a hospital and appears to be dying.
  • Toward Reconciliation — Robert is urged to overcome his bitterness and understand his father.

Directed by

Roland Joffé

Key Cast

• Charlie Cox — Josemaría
• Dougray Scott — Robert
• Wes Bentley — Manolo
• Olga Kurylenko — Ildiko
• Rodrigo Santoro — Oriol