Pilgrimage Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Pilgrimage Blu-ray Movie Review

Another Place and Time

Reviewed by Michael Reuben October 17, 2017

Whatever one's reaction to Pilgrimage, it's not your average adventure film. The Irish/Belgian co-production hovers uneasily between period drama and action spectacle, and it's not entirely satisfying as either one. But Jamie Hannigan's original script—the writer's first to be produced—attracted an impressive array of talent. Shot in 2015, Pilgrimage premiered in April of this year at the Tribeca Film Festival and received a limited theatrical release in August. RLJ Entertainment is issuing it on Blu-ray and DVD.

Pilgrimage is set in 1209, and its locale is Ireland, a wild and untamed place that, for Europeans of the period, would have been considered the ends of the Earth. The Norman forces that invaded England in 1066 are still trying to subjugate the Emerald Isle, but the inhabitants stubbornly and violently resist. Caught between opposing forces are servants of the Catholic Church, whose weapons are limited to faith and humble obedience—though whether they owe the latter to God or to the Pope's representatives is one of many thorny questions underlying the story's violent events.

Amidst these conflicts, a group of monks is charged with transporting a holy relic on the first leg of its journey to Rome. The relic traces back to the martyrdom of Saint Matthias, which is the film's opening scene, and it's such an ordinary object that one character claims it could be replaced with something contemporary and still be worshiped without anyone knowing the difference. But the monks, led by Brother Ciarán (John Lynch), dutifully obey Rome's command, under the direction of a Norman emissary from France, Brother Geraldus (Stanley Weber). The expedition is accompanied by a small group of knights led by Raymond De Merville (Richard Armitage, The Hobbit's Thorin Oakenshield), a hardened veteran of the Crusades, whose aging father (Eric Godon) views the relic as his ticket to redemption.

Central to Pilgrimage is a novice monk, Brother Diarmuid (Tom Holland, the latest Spider-Man), whose wide-eyed innocence will be tested by the perils of the journey. Brother Diarmuid is routinely accompanied by a mysterious figure known only as the Mute (Jon Bernthal, The Accountant). Never speaking a word, the Mute has the physique of a warrior and the haunted demeanor of someone who has seen countless atrocities and probably committed more than his share, and whose service to the monks is some sort of self-imposed punishment. (Several of Raymond De Merville's knights are certain they recognize him from the battlefield.)

Pilgrimage is rife with conflicting motives and hidden agendas, and the film's second half routinely erupts in violence, which director Brendan Muldowney stages with brutal immediacy. As the journey grows increasingly arduous and a growing number of lives are claimed, Pilgrimage attempts to explore an array of attitudes toward religion, from the purest faith to the most ruthless pragmatism, but the film never transcends its historical setting. Instead of reaching across the centuries to convey the universality of its characters' motivations, the film remains mired in the past, never fully connecting to concerns that today's viewer might be able to share. Like the story's survivors, it ends up adrift on a choppy sea, with no destination and no clear course.

Pilgrimage Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Pilgrimage is a digitally acquired project; the cinematographer is Tom Comerford, a regular collaborator of director Brendan Muldowney. RLJ Entertainment's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray reflects an obvious effort to desaturate the image in post-production, with every color drained of intensity, even the blue of the sky. It's an interesting artistic choice, given the obvious beauty of the scenic locations in Ireland and Belgium, which manage to retain a wild appeal even without their native hues, but the approach accentuates the drabness and hardship of life on the frontiers of Western civilization in the 13th Century. The palette's blandness is offset by the usual virtues of digital capture, with good sharpness and detail and an absence of noise or interference. Pilgrimage isn't a beautiful film, but it's expressive and visually striking. RLJ has mastered it on Blu-ray with an average bitrate of 20.99 Mbps, with a capable encode. It isn't the best possible presentation, but it's more than adequate.

Pilgrimage Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Pilgrimage has a 5.1 sound mix, which has been encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA. The surrounds are effectively used for typical environmental effects such as wind and surf, and they come alive in a few brief scenes of combat, especially when arrows are flying. Still, the film's most effective sonic component is the score by Stephen McKeon, a veteran of Poirot and Jack Taylor, who assembles an array of orchestral and choral voices to reinforce Pilgrimage's shifting locales and points of view. The score is spread throughout the sound array, with pleasing clarity and impressive bass extension. Spoken English is clearly rendered, but much of the film's dialogue is in Gaelic and French, which are subtitled.

Pilgrimage Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Making of Pilgrimage (1080p; 1.78:1; 11:06):



• The Dance of War: The Fight Choreography of Pilgrimage (1080p; 1.78:1; 2:10).



• Building an Army: The Visual & Make-Up Effects of Pilgrimage (1080p; 1.78:1; 2:51).



• Sounds from the Past: The Languages & Music of Pilgrimage (1080p; 1.78:1; 3:02).



• Setting the Scene: The Locations of Pilgrimage (1080p; 1.78:1; 1:57).



• Photo Gallery (1080p).



• Poster Gallery (1080p).



• Introductory Trailers: The film's trailer is not included. At startup, the disc plays trailers for Bushwick, Bone Tomahawk and The Colony.

Pilgrimage Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Pilgrimage is an interesting, though not entirely successful, experiment in melding genres, and it's certainly a change from typical Hollywood fare, but I can't say that it offers a fun night at the movies. If the story intrigues you, the Blu-ray will not disappoint.