On Opus Dei
From the interview “100 Questions for Roland Joffe” by Zenit.org
To what extent was Opus Dei behind the idea for the film?
“The question of Opus Dei being behind the film cuts quick of what Opus Dei is and is not. The assumption behind the question is that there is something called Opus Dei, which has a sort of bureaucratic and ideological presence, that exists in the world to do specific things. But there’s a misunderstanding about how Opus Dei works.
As the film shows, Opus Dei is a family of individuals; there is no “Opus Dei policy”, and Opus Dei as such can’t be behind anything. You might get three or four, even 20 or 30, Opus Dei members to agree on something, although from what I’ve met of them they’re never going to agree on all things, which, I think, is extraordinarily healthy.
Ignacio (Gomez-Sancha, producer) is a member of Opus Dei and he is, certainly, behind the movie. But that’s Ignacio, as an individual, who belongs to and is inspired by Opus Dei, but when I deal with Ignacio, I’m dealing with Ignacio, with his own world and his own sense of what’s valuable.”
