Composed of 4 chapters of approximately 45 minutes each, the docuseries brings emotional interviews with three elderly citizens who endured sexual abuse as children under Maciel and were the first to denounce him. While these interviews do not go deep into the horrendous acts, they remain chilling and highlight the courage of these men in their twilight years; speaking out about such trauma is triggering, as victims must relive it, and few men disclose their experiences due to shame and prejudice. These are the standout voices of the docuseries, showing that healing and processing aren’t the same and that trauma lingers.

The documentary highlights the abuses Maciel endured as a child, his erratic path as a seminarian, and his societal ascent through powerful circles of cardinals, politicians, businessmen, and wealthy widows. The series also exposes his quadruple life: founder of a religious order, family man in Mexico and Spain, and sexual tourist in Thailand who abused underage boys. He is believed to have abused at least 60 young boys, including two sons from a marriage and some members of his order, and some of them became abusers, resulting in the normalisation of a network of predators and victims.

The sexual predator Maciel had six children, had sex with four women, and maintained two marriages and families: one in Mexico, the other in Spain. In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI, via the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, banished Maciel to “a reserved life of penitence and prayer, relinquishing any form of public ministry.” Maciel never faced a canonical trial, spending his remaining days in Jackson, Florida, USA, and refusing to confess his crimes, even on his deathbed.

A cult spreading its poison inside the Catholic Church

The Legion of Christ operated with a cult-like mentality, forbidding criticism or dissent of superiors in the hierarchy, thus silencing opposition to Maciel; brainwashing and gaslighting prevented reports of abuse; underlings laboured for little or no pay to promote the order and Maciel himself; and buildings featured prominent portraits of Maciel in many points in the buildings and houses, echoing cult dynamics.
In the horror movie ‘The First Omen’, a cult inside the Catholic church is seen, but what happens there is fictional, while Maciel behaved like an actual cult leader and not a priest. Although “cult” have become a slippery term as we’ve seen the rise of documentaries and fictional portrayals about them in media, to better understand the situation of Maciel and his followers I will quote a 2025 UOL (Brazil) interview that screenwriter and author Guinevere Turner gave to me about the similarities between cults independent of period or region: “It is about coercive control, and ultimately about making people give up their lives to work for someone for free and find their self-worth in their approval.”

Most of the time, the main victims of cults tend to be women and children. The boys endured the abuse and other maladies, but as if not enough, Maciel created the Regnum Christi movement with the excuse of bringing more women to the structures of Catholicism, but was, in fact, exploiting their work. The documentary has an interview focused on this chapter of his infamous life.

A Guinevere Turner quote from our 2024 Big Picture Film Club interview clarifies the link between cults and their practices: “The similarities across countries and decades of cults are kind of shocking sometimes. It is all just patriarchy on steroids, and in the rare case when there is a woman in charge, it is still power dynamics on steroids in which women and children usually suffer.”

Turner, once a child member of the Lyman Family commune, shares her harrowing yet endearing story in the memoir When the World Didn’t End (2023). Her account helps us understand how groups outside mainstream society behave.

‘Marcial Maciel: El Lobo de Dios’ is based on investigative journalism and in-depth interviews. By avoiding sensationalism and gratuitous attacks often present in other media portrayals of Catholicism and its followers, the series offers a more balanced perspective. HBO’s docuseries contributes to the conversation on sexual abuse, childhood trauma, religion, cults, and investigative journalism by showing that thorough investigation still matters and deserves resources to uncover dark stories and expose perpetrators.

The post Marcial Maciel: The Wolf of God Review – HBO Investigates a Priest’s Legacy of Abuse appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

The series, helmed by Emmy-nominated filmmaker and former St. Edward Eagles wrestler Ben Hatta, goes beyond mat results, portraying a side of American society that humanizes its characters and helps to understand the values that compose Americana at its core, considering how big amateur wrestling is in the nation.

Before ‘Clash of Dynasties,’ Hatta worked on the acclaimed documentaries ‘Team Foxcatcher’ (2016) and ‘Angle’ (2023). The former focused on the controversial Foxcatcher training camp, which had among its luminaries the Olympic champion Dave Schultz, and the latter on Olympic wrestling gold medallist and pro-wrestling champion Kurt Angle.

Hatta didn’t only wrestle in his youth but hails from a family with deep roots in the sport. His father, Tadaaki Hatta, coached the Olympic teams of the USA, Japan, and Mexico, and his grandfather, Ichiro Hatta, was a secretary to judo founder Jigoro Kano and introduced amateur and pro wrestling to Japan in the early 1930s and also competed as a wrestler at the Los Angeles 1932 Olympics. Now, the country is a powerhouse at the Olympics and has a vibrant pro-wrestling culture.

Ben Hatta draws from his experiences at home and on the mat to thrive in his cinematic career. In an interview with The Big Picture Film Club, the documentarist speaks about his creative process, working on a story and keeping it real while he was a character and the role that wrestling plays in American society.

Gabriel Leão (GL): You worked on the acclaimed wrestling documentaries ‘Team Foxcatcher’ and ‘Angle.’ How do you believe those two prepared you for ‘Clash of Dynasties’?
Ben Hatta (BH): Both Team Foxcatcher and Angle were wrestling-based stories that took place during the 1990s and so was ‘Clash,’ so all 3 dealt with the same time period and I actually lived through all 3 stories and experienced them personally. I was able to actually tie all 3 films together with Clash of Dynasties with some throwback footage to those other moments. But I think what I found the most educational with the 2 previous films was really looking for those storylines or those elements that didn’t have to do with wrestling or sports at all really and find more of those universal stories that could help enhance the overall film and appeal to a broader audience with ‘Clash of Dynasties.’ Plus, all the work finding the archives and digging through footage from 30 years ago was pretty much the same… (Breaths) Intense.

GL: You were part of the St. Edward team. How did you work with that background in the docuseries? Does it influence your decisions, considering you tell the story from both sides?
BH: Yes, I wrestled for St. Eds from 1990 to 1994, so I knew of this moment in time in American high school wrestling quite well but since I only started on the varsity team for just my senior year, I was also a spectator for some of it. And since I was from one of the schools, I had to make a conscious effort to tell a fair and even-sided story. In order to help do that, I employed the services of 3 wrestlers from the other school, Walsh Jesuit, to help me make this project. None of them were filmmakers but they helped produce the project in several ways; especially keeping me on track and honest to their side of the story. I never looked at this as my story to tell, it was all of our stories and at some points, it was even bigger than us.

GL: You hail from a wrestling family with your father and grandfather, the legendary Tadaaki Hatta and Ichiro Hatta, respectively. How is this personal biography part of not only ‘Clash of Dynasties’ but also your creative process?
BH: Well, my father is a cast member in the film series, as he was one of the coaches at St. Edward during this time. My brother is in the series as well, and so am I, so we’re all in this series together. My dad is also an artist (painting and sculpture) and I’ve taken on some of those traits but I’m trying to use television and film as my art form and canvas. I think both of us are trying to follow in my grandfather’s footsteps by trying to grow the sport of wrestling as much as we can through art, storytelling, international diplomacy, etc. whatever we can do to broaden the audience and showcase the great passion, emotion, and efforts of the oldest sport in the world.

GL: For Americans, high school sports play an important role in shaping the individual and the community. How do you see ‘Clash of Dynasties’ registering this corner of American sports history?
BH: This is not just your classic “David vs Goliath” story, there are other themes running throughout this series as well, where teenagers were dealing with extreme losses (deaths of teammates, coaches, and family members) that took place “off the mat” that affected them deeply and how they overcame those moments. Hopefully, viewers will be inspired to be the best at what they set out to do and see that there is a formula to success, if you put in the work and never give up.

GL: What would attract British viewers and those from other countries to your docuseries?
BH: I feel any viewer will be able to connect with the human elements of this story: the struggle, overcoming loss, deaths, dealing with pain, dedication to helping others, and working hard to be good at something. This is more than just a wrestling story, or a sports story really, it’s a human story and I think everyone can relate to those moments more than the amazing athletic achievements of these teenagers. Coach Bill Barger’s pledge to God in Vietnam that he would help youth if he just got out of there, and what he ended up doing with his life is just one of the many amazing stories in this Series.

GL: Wrestling is part of American society and culture. How is it inserted into American life, and what values does it bring to the nation?
BH: Wrestling is a sport that possesses many values that are relatable to the American way of life, in such that a wrestler is the only one on the mat… Much like boxing or MMA, the only one in the ring or the octagon. There is no one else to blame but yourself for the work you put it is what you’ll get out in return. There’s also a respect for the competitor who has the strength and courage to step on the mat or in the ring or in the octagon and give it their all in an effort of competition. I actually think it’s a story that is probably needed today not only in America because it shows that those who were once enemies can come together out of mutual respect for the battles they shared. Rivalries and competition are what make the good into great, and the great into dynasties!

GL: There is a belief that American society has an image of “winner culture” and that those who didn’t make it aren’t worthy of it. The movie industry is also an unforgiven world. How does the sport of wrestling help in dealing with societal pressures?
BH: I think the lessons learned from the sport of wrestling, like many martial arts, is discipline and focus. Setting goals and the dedication to achieve them are part of the sport and realizing that you can’t really rely on anyone other than yourself – can help you block out those pressures and help keep you on the path you’re supposed to be on. And like the sport, life is never easy but if you’re a good person, you work hard and have a little luck, good things will come.

GL: Your documentary humanizes its subjects, going beyond training methods and wrestling moves. How did you achieve this approach?
BH: Again, I feel focusing on the stories that were much deeper than wrestling, things that were taking place off the mat- behind the scenes, that were affecting those teenagers was the most important. I say teenagers because you can forget that these were just kids- some as young as 14 years old- thrust into the national spotlight and in a very physical sport, in front of huge crowds, while dealing with deep emotional losses. I hope viewers can feel that. Our cast was very open and vulnerable in telling their stories and I feel it comes through in their interviews. I also put a focus on the 1990s and that time period that this story took place because that was a decade of change – in media, politics, sports, etc. – and many of the events that took place in the 90s were reflective of this story.

GL: What are your sweetest memories from your time as a St. Edward wrestler?
BH: I think the best times on most teams, were the times spent travelling together and competing together, being part of a team. Focusing on a common goal at the highest degree, training and pushing each other to be the best (or at least your best), taking on the toughest competition in the country, and trying to prove your worth was something that I value highly in my time spent at St. Eds. And the coaching staff and the amount of talent we had watching over us was just amazing. But my sweetest memory was winning my match against Walsh Jesuit during our dual meet in 1994 – when ESPN was there – in front of 2000 to 3000 fans.

The series became available to watch on www.clashofdynasties.com and by pressing the Watch The Series button.

The post How ‘Clash of Dynasties’ Captures America’s Greatest High School Wrestling Rivalry appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

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