Those not able to watch “Ignacio de Loyola: Soldier, Sinner, Saint” in theatres will soon be able to watch it in their homes with the commercial release of the DVD on February 18 in the Philippines and in spring in North America.
Produced by Jesuit Communications Foundation (JesCom) Philippines, the feature film is a modern look at the story of St Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, often called “The Saint of Second Chances.”
Aside from the regular DVD version, a collector’s edition will also be released next month, which will include behind-the-scenes featurettes and slideshow and the official international trailer. Both versions will have subtitles in English, Spanish and French.
In the Philippines, the DVD is available for purchase from JesCom’s Tanging Yaman stores and will be available in stores of member organisations of the Asian Catholic Communicators Incorporated (ACCI) in a few weeks.
“We want to make the DVD available in more stores throughout the country through ACCI partner organisations, such as St Paul, Paulines, Claretian Communications Foundation Inc, Catholic Book Center, and Logos Publications Inc,” said JesCom Marketing Manager Dit Sablan.
In North America, the DVD will be available in spring through Ignatius Press. In January, Ignatius Press released the film in select theatres across the United States.
“Ignacio de Loyola” has been presented at several film festivals, including the Festival Internacional de Cine con Valores in Guadalajara, Mexico where it won the Audience Choice Award, and the International Film Festival of Manhattan in New York, where it garnered the Best Actor Award for lead star Andreas Muñoz. The film has also been screened in theatres in the US, Canada, England and New Zealand. Arrangements are being made for screenings in Spain, including at the Madrimana Film Festival in Madrid in March this year. The movie is rated PG 13.
Shot on location in Spain, the film takes an incisive and thrilling look at the life of the saint. It opens with a brief glimpse into Ignatius’ early life and problematic family before plunging into the life and times of Ignatius as a young man, revealing a brash, hot headed soldier in a time of political upheaval in Spain in the 1500’s. Ignatius went from living a life of violence and debauchery, to becoming one of the greatest saints in the history of the Church. This film chronicles his torturous struggle to turn from darkness to light – a struggle that nearly destroyed him, but also gave him the key to a spiritual weapon, the Spiritual Exercises, which continues to save lives to this day.
Fr Paul Nicholson SJ, in his review of the film for ThinkingFaith.org, wrote, “On one level, the film tells the story of the early life of a real life knight-errant, with enough dramatic scenery and incident to keep the viewer’s attention. On another it tries to dramatise the process of discernment, of being able to recognise God’s voice amidst the competing calls of a complex world, and it largely succeeds in this.”
Fr James Schall SJ, Professor Emeritus at Georgetown University, said, “This account of Ignatius’ early life is both gripping and moving, not to be missed.”
For more information, contact Jesuit Communications Foundation at jcf@admu.edu.ph.