How a playboy aristocrat turned to a life dedicated to God
Why 'Just Javier' makes for an interesting watch
By Poch Eulalia
At A Glance
- In his prime, he led a non-stop nightlife filled with sex, booze, and drugs while slowly making a name for himself as a paddle tennis player.
JUST JAVIER Javier Sartorius lived the high life as a promising young athlete before turning it all away to become a missionary. (Photos: Bosco Films)
When living the high life, it’s almost unfathomable to consider ever leaving it all. Yet, for Javier Sartorius Milans del Bosch, the main subject of the documentary “Just Javier,” all it took was turning to God.
“Just Javier,” originally titled “Solo Javier,” follows the story of a promising young athlete’s journey to the top. In his prime, he led a non-stop nightlife filled with sex, booze, and drugs while slowly making a name for himself as a paddle tennis player. Hoping to steer him on the right path, his parents sent him to the US to straighten him out. It was there that he was exposed to the homeless community of Venice Beach. He would eventually befriend a bunch of them, curious to learn their stories.
Filled with a new perspective, Javier kept on his journey of self-discovery through meditation. As he went on, he was recommended to join a volunteer mission in Peru. There, he was shown a different kind of poverty altogether. During this time, while still mostly disassociated from it all, he managed to form a strong bond with the children he met during the trip. Slowly, the faith he had seemingly abandoned began to return. It came back strong enough to set him on a path dedicated to God, though his untimely death in 2006 occurred just before he was set to be ordained as a Catholic priest.
Tomás Farell as Javier
While much of the Bosco Films production plays out like those mandatory Catholic School documentary viewings, it does stir up quite a bit of curiosity toward Javier’s life. Our viewing was a dubbed version that had somewhat distracting voice actors, but once you get over it, you are left lingering about how someone from such a privileged background could ever throw it all away. “Just Javier” does a great job of slowly showing us just how it played out. It leaves enough to make you reflect on how not even the shiniest trophies and the world’s greatest pleasures can satiate a spiritual thirst.
Many liken Javier to a modern-day Saint Augustine for his journey. Then, there’s the touch of Jesuit influence, where most of its iconic saints like St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier are known to have similar backgrounds of nobility before turning to a life of poverty in the name of God. He might even join their ranks someday, with efforts calling for Javier’s beautification.
“Just Javier” is exclusively screening in Ayala Malls Cinemas.