The following is my impression of Risen, the Sony film (Columbia Pictures actually) released just today. I feel that the word 'impression' is more apt in this instance than 'review.' The film is unlike other Christian or Bible themed movies that I have seen over the past fifty-five or so years in that it doesn't seem to be directed at anyone in particular and yet it seems to be directed at everyone in some way. It's not an evangelistic film where it attempts to convert the unbeliever... and yet that unbeliever will go away with a very uneasy feeling. It's also not meant to strengthen the belief of the Christian a la the Charleston Heston films of old... and yet it cannot do anything but.
If you haven't read previews of the Risen yet, it's the story of a Roman Tribune present at the Crucifixion and then charged by Pontius Pilate with the task of finding the missing body of the Nazarene Yeshua before Pilate is forced to deal with a major uprising amongst the Jews. That Tribune, played by Joseph Fiennes, is Everyman.... unbeliever and Christian alike, with thoughts deep within himself....moiling as he tries to present himself outwardly as focused and determined yet agitated by the unknown which he is unwilling to admit to.
Does the film follow Scripture.....mostly. Does it depart from Scripture.....no....no more than the thoughts of all of us at one time or another. Did you ever just think and imagine in between the verses of the Bible...where.no one else was privy to those thoughts? That's what this film does, for it's a very personal movie. It's calming, as the script slowly meanders through a time that must have been utter chaos. I could have uttered as I sat there...."I've a feeling we're not in a movie theater anymore Toto.... for we are as if lying in the verdure of Galilee imagining what the disciples were like before endued with the power of the Holy Spirit.'
Will Risen be acclaimed in any way by the film industry? I doubt it. Will it be nominated for any Academy Awards? Yeah...possibly Costume Design. So was it worth the effort of going to see it? The word.....risen....strikes fear into many, for they know full well what it implies, but it comforts the Christian amidst the tumult all around us. Yes it was worth it.
Go see it friends! Look through the eyes of that Tribune so that you might pray more rightly for your friends and family... knowing how they think. Weep along with the sobs of the Leper and recount your own cleansing. Rejoice in a risen Savior.....and then set out to walk the Judean foothills of this life, not knowing what may be ahead but trusting fully in the command to go.
If you haven't read previews of the Risen yet, it's the story of a Roman Tribune present at the Crucifixion and then charged by Pontius Pilate with the task of finding the missing body of the Nazarene Yeshua before Pilate is forced to deal with a major uprising amongst the Jews. That Tribune, played by Joseph Fiennes, is Everyman.... unbeliever and Christian alike, with thoughts deep within himself....moiling as he tries to present himself outwardly as focused and determined yet agitated by the unknown which he is unwilling to admit to.
Does the film follow Scripture.....mostly. Does it depart from Scripture.....no....no more than the thoughts of all of us at one time or another. Did you ever just think and imagine in between the verses of the Bible...where.no one else was privy to those thoughts? That's what this film does, for it's a very personal movie. It's calming, as the script slowly meanders through a time that must have been utter chaos. I could have uttered as I sat there...."I've a feeling we're not in a movie theater anymore Toto.... for we are as if lying in the verdure of Galilee imagining what the disciples were like before endued with the power of the Holy Spirit.'
Will Risen be acclaimed in any way by the film industry? I doubt it. Will it be nominated for any Academy Awards? Yeah...possibly Costume Design. So was it worth the effort of going to see it? The word.....risen....strikes fear into many, for they know full well what it implies, but it comforts the Christian amidst the tumult all around us. Yes it was worth it.
Go see it friends! Look through the eyes of that Tribune so that you might pray more rightly for your friends and family... knowing how they think. Weep along with the sobs of the Leper and recount your own cleansing. Rejoice in a risen Savior.....and then set out to walk the Judean foothills of this life, not knowing what may be ahead but trusting fully in the command to go.
