Wonderful Biblical Movies in Theaters This Week

As we approach Easter, there are some wonderful movies in theaters. On March 10, The Catholic Courier presents an article entitled “Two new films on Jesus raise questions, curiosity, hope.”  The article provides an historical overview of the challenges in making movies about Jesus Christ. The article addresses the two current movies about Jesus in theaters. Having been first released in mid-February in theaters, Risen is about a Roman tribune investigating the disappearance of Christ’s body.

It has been rated highly by movie audiences, finishing third at the U.S. box office in its opening weekend.  It is still in theaters as The Young Messiah is released this week. The Young Messiah is about 7-year-old Jesus returning with his parents to Nazareth from Egypt and discovering the truth of his life. The Catholic Courier states that “…Regardless of how these two films fare commercially or critically, the fact that Scripture-themed movies, particularly those about Jesus, are getting out to movie audiences is a positive. Anything that might prompt people to think and reflect on faith is healthy.”  

‘The Young Messiah’ is a fictional story about Jesus’ early years : Photo courtesy 1492 pictures.

Austin Movie Examiner has screened both Risen and The Young Messiah. As movies inspired by Biblical and historical accounts; both take dramatic license with the storylines; but the storytelling is outstanding in both as is the performing and the cinematography. Despite the dramatic license with both movies, they both line up with Christian views and should not offend Christians.

Risen covers Jesus Christ’s life at the end of His life and The Young Messiah covers the beginning of His life. Both are inspirational and thought-provoking. Due to depictions of violence, Risen is more appropriate for teens through adults. The Young Messiah also depicts violence but in ways that are more appropriate for older children through adults.  

In a recent interview with Austin Movie Examiner, Cyrus Nowrasteh, writer and director of The Young Messiah tells how he wishes Risen well because it builds momentum for The Young Messiah. Cyrus wishes other redemptive and faith-based movies well because one movie builds on the other. He tells how the movie The Passion of the Christ  started a “wild fire” of faith-based movies, made possible with the “divine creation” of the camera and ever-improving cinematography.

He tells how faith-based movies in theaters are all connected, linked. Each movie builds on the earlier ones with an ever-growing picturizations of God’s nature, work, and relationships with men in our world.

Clavius, a Roman tribune, stands with Jesus’ disciples in ‘Risen’ : photo courtesy Affirm Films.

In the exclusive interview with Austin Movie Examiner, Cyrus Nowrasteh, writer and director of The Young Messiah describes the composer for The Young Messiah as an “angel of a man” and “faith- driven man.” John Debney, who has composed the score for The Passion of the Christ has beautifully and skillfully composed the captivating, suspenseful, Eastern-sounding music for The Young Messiah as he “was moved by the story” of seven-year-old Jesus Christ who begins to understand the truth about his life when he returns to Nazareth from Egypt.

Cyrus Nowrasteh and his wife and writing partner, Betsy, have provided wonderful interviews; but this interview with Austin Movie Examiner focused on the unique and universal appeal of The Young Messiah. Cyrus says that The Young Messiah will universally appeal to older children and families around the globe from a broad range of cultural backgrounds.

He describes this movie as depicting the Holy Family as real people in the Jewish and Roman backgrounds of the time. Nowrasteh tells how one pastor stood up at a test screening of the movie and said that this film is the best Jesus movie he has seen because the characters are relatable.

Having screened this movie with Bestsy Nowrasteh,  Austin Film Examiner reports that Adam Greaves-Neal performs beautifully the balance of Jesus’ humanity and divinity. He performs skillfully and delicately with a subtle, natural, British dialect with universal appeal and suitability for a classic character. Nowrasteh, tells how he as director, worked to match and unify the dialects of the other characters with Adam’s. The clarity of the dialogue and the unified dialects give the dialogue a beautiful, artistic, and classic quality that is clear throughout.

Nowrasteh shares how each of the characters are relatable and captivating. Young Mary and Joseph are compelling in their humanity combined with strength of character. They, like young Jesus Christ, are realistic, relatable role models. This movie is especially inspiring for older children and young families. Cyrus tells how one man at a screening after seeing Joseph in this movie said that he was inspired to be a better father.

Nowrasteh tells how this movie has had cross appeal to people of different faith backgrounds. Rabbis who have screened the film have been positive about the movie because it authentically depicts a Jewish family “in a chaotic world” that needs a Messiah. Cyrus how as director he has worked to honor Jewish traditions and to present authentic, realistic, and cinematographic backgrounds. 

Young Mary and Joseph are compelling in their humanity combined with strength of character in ‘The Young Messiah’ : Photo courtesy Affirm Films.

Cyrus describes the building of the conflict in the movie as a delicate balance that is directed to look natural, believable, and authentic. The movie is captivating as it builds in intensity and with a sense of jeopardy with carefully crafted antagonists. Although there is a constant sense of danger, there is also a sense of God’s presence, guidance, and protection in the life of the young Jesus. Against the background of evil darkness, Nowrasteh describes the movie a “journey into the light.”

This movie is an imagined picture of what is must have been like in Jesus’ early years because very little is in the Bible about Jesus Christ’s early life. Nonetheless, the writers of the screenplay have paid great attention to the history, cultures of the time, and to biblical scholarship.

The movie is based on Anne Rice’s novel Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, which she wrote after a spiritual awakening and conversion to Catholicism. Cyrus Nowrasteh,  writer and director, explains that some of the imagined extra-Biblical material for the novel and movie came from 2000 year old stories that came out of Egypt, especially Alexandria, after the Holy Family was there.

lavius (Joseph Fiennes, left) warns Lucius (Tom Felton) to let them all pass, after he discovers him leading the apostles away from the Roman soldiers in a scene from the motion picture “Risen” : photo courtesy Affirm Films.

Dr, Ted Baehr of Movieguide.org has said, “There are many movies about Jesus since the 1890s. Only one has been word for word. All the others create story elements not found in the Bible. So, The Jesus Film, which has been seen by a billion people, is 70 percent the Gospel of Luke. The rest was added to make the movie dramatic…I had long conversations with the filmmaker, John Heyman, about how to dramatize the Gospel while keeping the orthodox, biblical theology….Even if a movie is word for word, like The Gospel of John, the casting, the set direction, the locations, are all products of the filmmaker’s imagination…”

Cyrus Nowrasteh tells that his goal for The Young Messiah is for it to be reverential but relatable and authentic for families. He shares how even skeptics connect with the characters and story on an emotional level. His desire is that viewers will fall in love with the characters and that “their skepticism will be dismissed and go out the window.” Nowrasteh tells how he has watched a lot of biblical movies, but he has directed The Young Messiah from his heart, wanting a fresh look at the life of Christ.

Both Risen and The Young Messiah are must-see movies, especially for the Easter Season. May these movies bring new insight into this season of the year. Happy Easter!