Sacred Journey, The Gala giant screen, Durham.

TO anyone familiar with history, the idea of packing St Cuthbert's life story into a half-hour film may seem like a tall order.

But aside from vague recollections of his coffin being carried for miles, I must admit to having been pretty ignorant of the saint's significance before seeing The Sacred Journey.

In that sense, I could appreciate it from a similar perspective to most tourists, for whom the film is mainly designed.

The first striking thing about it was its resemblance to a Hollywood blockbuster.

From the opening scenes, the sharp images and dramatic, suspense-filled soundtrack prepared you for an epic production.

It started well with beautiful shots of Durham Cathedral, magnified in all its glory on a giant screen.

While St Cuthbert's life was not the most light-hearted of subjects - he started as a shepherd, became a monk, then went to live in isolation on Lindisfarne - the film managed to inject it with a real sense of drama.

It showed battle scenes between the Vikings and monks to great effect, complete with rolling fireballs and gruesome deaths.

Yet equal attention was given to portraying the beauty of the region's countryside.

Without being inaccessible or overlong, the film proved that Durham's history is as dramatic as anything Hollywood scriptwriters could dream up.

Sarah Foster

* Shows daily at 10am, 10.45am, 11.30am and 2.15pm. Tickets at £4 and £3.50 or £3.25 for concessions, available from the box office which can be contacted on 0191-332 4041.