Sorta Sherlock Holmes as a monk in the Dark Ages

This is outstanding as far as locations, sets, costumes and make-up go. Anyone interested in a shadowy drama with the dreary Gothic ambiance of the Middle Ages, this is the film to see. It’s helped by Connery’s towering performance, marked by his nonchalant confidence. Slater is also excellent as the inquisitive novice. Meanwhile Valentina Vargas as the feral peasant girl is yet another highlight (there’s some nudity, just a heads up).

The murder mystery is decent enough and there are interesting theological debates, but this is mostly a commentary on the good, the bad and the ugly of Medieval Catholicism. Remember, there was good reason for the Protestant Reformation that started less than 200 years later. I advise using the subtitles, as this is a dialogue-driven piece filled with mumbled Latin words and unusual names; it will help you understand the convoluted goings-on.

Speaking of which, the film seems weighed down and needed a rewrite to make the story more compelling. Yet it’s still well worth checking out for those interested and influenced many movies, like “Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves” (1991). Fans of "Black Death" (2010) should appreciate it, although it’s not on that level of greatness; the contemporaneous “Season of the Witch” too. Those films, however, are more conventionally entertaining. This one’s more along the weighty lines of “The Bridge of San Luis Rey" (2004), which most people hated, but I appreciated.

The flick was shot at a replica of the monastery on a hilltop outside Rome (exteriors and some interiors) while most interiors were done at Eberbach Abbey, Germany, over 700 miles to the north; the mountain scenes were shot nearby in Taunus Mountains, Hessen, Germany.