1492 Pictures, CJ Entertainment, Hyde Park International,
Adam Greaves-Neal, Sara Lazzaro, Vincent Walsh, Sean Bean, Jonathan Bailey, Agni Scott
Based on the novel by Anne Rice called “Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt” this is the story of Jesus (Adam Graves-Neal) as a young boy. As the young boy is learning who he is, the family heads out after their hiatus in Egypt. King Herod, from when the child was born, is now dead, and his sons have split the kingdom of Judea into North and South portions. The son who has the southern part was still terrified of the rumors of the Messiah who is foretold, and sends the Roman Severus (Sean Bean) out to find and kill the boy. But young Jesus is determined to figure out his role and many things he still doesn’t completely understand just yet.
This is a generic religious story, as the producers and directors did definitely try to stay true to what might have happened without offending all the different flavors of Christianity of the world, but because there is very, very little information in the Bible about the childhood of Jesus, the writers (and the author) have to take a LOT of liberties and ultimately don’t claim to be telling the true facts, but more a feel for what it might have been like. As such, it is a beautiful film. There aren’t any good films about the youth of Jesus, and it’s nice to think about what it would have been like to be born this special, but as a child, not understanding all of it. I’m sure it took time to learn the whole scope of his mission. The scenery in Italy where most of the film is recorded is beautiful and suits the feeling of Israel perfectly. They purposely chose unknown people to play the holy family so that we would not be distracted by familiar faces. This was an excellent move. This is not a pushy film, not proselyting in any way, and it feels like a biography, yet it is true to the religious beliefs and sensitive to them. It’s a very good balance. This is not “The Greatest Story of All Time” nor “The Ten Commandments”. With a small budget, but a lot of love and care, they crafted a really well made movie without the need to go all out. Less is more in this case, and this is a fine film. Hint: IF you have the DVD, it might be worthwhile to listen to the commentary track after you’ve watched the film. It’s very well done.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
