PILGRIMAGE is a beautifully shot, outdoors adventure in the same mould as VALHALLA RISING. These films take place in rugged outdoor locations with minimal cast members and plotting; they typically involve a journey narrative, which here takes place in the form of a group of monks transporting a chest of precious treasure through Ireland. There's little dialogue but the film does boast some splendidly gritty action scenes which are every bit as good as those seen in big budget productions like APOCALYPTO. The cast is also well chosen: Tom Holland shows he has the acting chops ready for the Marvel big time, while Richard Armitage is an effectively imposing bad guy. Best of the lot is THE WALKING DEAD's Jon Bernthal playing a brooding mute; I loved Bernthal as Shane in that series and he continues to impress here.

Out of the creeping faerie mist of a dark age comes an intensely suspenseful tale about why we choose our allegiances. This is the heart of the story - our reasons make no sense.The drama revolves around a lump of rock. That any other lump could replace it at any time and no-one would notice is openly stated in the dialogue. It's the stark question woven through the plot - is faith taken on faith alone really worth fighting for?It's a tense film, beautifully written and exquisitely acted. Each viewer decides what the film's about - it doesn't explain itself, it falls silent. Everyone will see something different. Some might conclude we're all compelled towards war whether we like it or not. Some might decide we're all in league with the Devil whether we know it or not. Some might believe we're all still lost in the creeping faerie mist clutching for something to save us.Some reviewers didn't rate it highly as an action thriller but it's not a superficial movie and maybe doesn't fit into that genre. There's far more being shown in the subtext and the themes than being told in the action. As for the excessive violence, I felt it merely conveyed the grim reality of melee combat. After all, hidden in the word 'Pilgrimage' is the word 'grim'.It's a mark of a brilliant film when after seeing it once you must see it again. On the second viewing, it bit me deeper on the neck and made me more its thrall.For me, the main highlight was Jon Bernthal's acting. It was haunting. He played a voiceless man who served the monks as the lowliest of their group and I fell in love with his tragic integrity. He reminded me of another tormented anti-hero of contemporary myth - Angel from 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer': the vampire cursed with a soul, plagued by a weight of remorse for a hellish past. Both crave absolution and will do anything to receive it.I loved 'Pilgrimage'. It was a strangely beguiling hybrid of superstitious medievalism clashing with an ancient landscape alive with pre-existing belief. And the ending was satisfyingly unsatisfying - like all good fairy tales are.

Let's start by saying it is a good movie. The character development and the acting is solid and the look and feel of the movie is consistent and believable. The choreography and continuity is very professional, as are the other technical elements, such as soundtrack and cinematography. One actually feels sorry for the actors having to go through the obvious rigours of cold water and cold climate scenes. But this is why it is like watching synchronized swimming: You get the feeling at the end of the movie that it was rather pointless. Very well done but without a real purpose. It feels like a long pilot episode of a series where the writers first wants to get a response before writing the next script. The movie aptly ends with the dialogue: "So where to now"? And this is the summation - where to now? Perhaps the comment that the script writer wrote in the margin accidentally became part of the script. I loved Tom Holland and Jon Bernthal. Richard Armitage positioned himself as someone to really keep an eye on.

This is very good. far more realistic than Hollywood might produce. it's interesting, much dogma was born of superstition, identifications that without science, were attributed to whatever godly (natural) forces our people believed in at the time. However, belief is a force unto itself and it does serve to manipulate circumstance. that is in here too. well told