Cannonball to the Knee - A Review of "Ignacio de Loyola"

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(Image from JesCom)
"Ignacio De Loyola" is the very first full-length feature film produced by Jesuit Communications in the Philippines. It tells the story of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the patron saint of the Ateneo de Manila University and the founder of the Society of Jesus.

Students and employees of the Ateneo de Manila watched the film at the Henry Lee Irwin Theater last week, and here are some thoughts from the members of the Loyola Junior Bloggers:

From Paolo Cruz of L8-Goto: 
As a student of a Jesuit educational institution, St. Ignatius has been embedded in my brain ever since I started. So, my first impressions were not that high.I thought it was just gonna be a 3 minute video filmed on some random camera. But that was not what happened, I watched a film filled with emotion and truth. 

I watched a film about a story I have heard about countless times, but was still awed by it's story and storytelling. However, every review is not filled with praise.

The CGI wasn't the best and there was one scene where Igntius encountered the Devil which seemed to be a bit confusing. It was a good film, scarred with some error. Overall, I'd give it 3 popcorn buckets over 5.


From Manuel Ramos of M7-Alonso:
Ignacio De Loyola is a Filipino-based movie which describes and goes into the life of the founder of the Jesuit Soceity: St. Ignatius of Loyola. 

 One good point about this movie is that it is very close to the real story of Ignatius. Another good point about this movie is that it is very touching and inspiring to atheists that don't believe in any god to go over to the Christian-Catholic faith

 One bad point about this is the gore part because many faint-hearted people may have just wanted to quit out on the movie. Another bad point is that they spent too much time on the politicts portion or whether or not the Spiritual Exercises was legal.

 My overall impression of this film is: it is pretty nice for a Filipino-budget film.

I would give this movie 2/4 cannonballs.


From Tony Bengzon of P8-Ferreres:
Last weekend, I watched a movie titled 'Ignacio de Loyola.' The movie was striking because it exceeded my expectations,and it was created by a group of Filipinos.

 You might be like 'What!?!?, what does being a Filipino making the film have to do with the films quality? How racist.' Well, hear me out, see here, the film quality isn't as good as your typical Hollywood film. Our movies here are like; 'Hey look, there's a person in it, 10/10 zomg!1!11!!' Anyway, yeah the film was made by Filipinos and it was a good film because it had over all good film production, and actors did their parts well. However despite this being a really good movie, there are also some flaws. First, this film did not exactly replicate the story of what REALLY happend in St. Ignacius' life, and the main character did not look too similar to Inigo. I would give this movie a solid 8.5/10 cannonballs


From Kino Salazar of P7-Andlauer:
Ignacio de Loyola the movie was overall a good movie. It wasn't as I thought It's events would be like. A good point of this movie is the "spiritual touchiness."

 It really gives a kicker when it comes to being touchy, because it makes me feel guilty about me not being very connected with Christ. Another good point of this movie is the acting ability of the actors. The actors nailed the Spanish accent (at least most of them) and the cgi was ok. One weak point of the movie is that it did not tell the entire storty. The movie only showed a certain part in St. Ignatius' life and not the entire sainthood and start of the Jesuit Order.The other  weak point of the movie is that its confusing. One part was not very clear to me because I didn't know where it fit in. But I like this movie still, and I rate it 4/5 cannonballs.

Kino's VLOG during film-viewing day:



From Luis Lagman of L7-Briant:
Last Saturday, my peers and I were required to watch a special movie about our school’s patron saint, Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Will this movie live out to our expectations? 

 Personally, I thought the movie was generally remarkable because the acting was spot on, and there were a lot of beautiful scenes. I was humbled learning of the life of a saint that is Saint Ignatius of Loyola.

 But of course, no movie is perfect, and this movie has its fair share of flaws. The visual effects are far from being realistic, making it a little painful to watch. I also thought that the film would have been better had it shown more details of the life of Saint Ignatius, and not have focused too much on Saint Ignatius’ court case and death penalty. Maybe I would give it a better rating if it included more relevant events and happenings in the life of Saint Ignatius, such as the formation of the Society of Jesus.

 Overall, the movie Saint Ignatius of Loyola really succeeded in depicting the life of Saint Ignatius, thus I highly recommend that everyone, young and old, should watch this great film. 

 I would give this movie 8 out of 10 cannonballs!



Here are some reactions of social media using #IgnacioDeLoyola:

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Have you watched "Ignacio De Loyola" already? If you haven't, go to the nearest cinema (where it's available, of course) and watch!!!

Here's the Ignacio De Loyola trailer to whet your appetite:




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