'Risen' (2016) - movie review

Risen Official Trailer 1 (2016) - Tom Felton Biblical Movie HD

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RESURRECTION tells the epic New Testament story of the first forty days after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ through the eyes of an agnostic Roman Centurion charged by Pontius Pilot to investigate rumors of a risen Jewish Messiah and locate the missing deceased body of Jesus of Nazareth in order to subdue an imminent uprising in Jerusalem.


Risen (2016 film)

Risen is a 2016 American biblical drama film directed by Kevin Reynolds; it was conceived from a screenplay written by Reynolds and Paul Aiello. The film stars Joseph Fiennes, Tom Felton, Peter Firth, and Cliff Curtis, and details a Roman soldier's search for Jesus' body following his Resurrection. Columbia Pictures released the film to theaters nationwide in the United States on February 19, 2016.

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The film begins with the words "Judean Desert AD 33," and a revolt by Judeans against the Roman army. A rather gutty thing to do, as they were poorly armed. In the bigger picture, the Roman provincial prefect Pontius Pilate wanted things to settle down for a coming visit from the Emperor. In a separate early scene, the Crucifixion of "Yeshua" is shown, and the central character Clavius is introduced. He was a high ranking Roman military tribune; likely a fictional character. Roman and Hebrew leadership were portrayed as conspiring together against Yeshua's potential "Messiah" status after his death, and no doubt were doing so when he was alive as far as this movie's depiction.

When guards fell asleep, and the body of Yeshua comes up missing, this coalition goes in panic mode. There is an ambiguous aura around what actually occurred to these two guards, and it remained inconclusive. At one point, Clavius prays to the Roman god Mars in order to garner favor. I don't want to give away too much, although the trailer gives away much of this anyway, but Clavius comes face to face with the "risen" Yeshua and observes supernatural happenings which dramatically transforms his thinking. Later interactions between Yeshua and Clavius are moving.

There are no overzealous attempts by the filmmakers to make Yeshua "bigger than life" or to show him as overly humble or pious, as has been portrayed in past films. In some ways, this added to the character's sincerity, gentle nature, and strength. Yeshua is played by Cliff Curtis, a New Zealander of Maori or part Maori descent... who made a perfectly believable ancient Hebrew... a more accurate Jesus, sort've more Tony Shaloub than Brad Pitt. Clavius is played well by British actor Joseph Fiennes.

Basically, the Hebrews appeared as what we would perceive as like Russian Jews; while the Romans appeared more-or-less accurately as being something of like "Alpine types." There is at least some evidence to suggest that the early Romans were more of a proto-European outfit... rising up against the more Mediterranean Etruscans. Our own Cisalpine culture led the way, in terms of the artistic portrayals of Jesus, centuries later. Needless to say, this movie is very relevant to our culture.

While this film doesn't have a particularly expensive or elaborate setting, it likely shows a more accurate Judea of 2,000 years ago. It shows the characters the way they were to have been, without overstating the point. It's an easy watch; rough without displaying too much overt violence.

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Mary Magdalene is played by Maria Botto, an Argentine actress of Cisalpine descent; and whose family is well represented in the Argentine film industry as can be seen on her link.

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Spoiler alert beyond this point!

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Close to the end of the film, Clavius--after observing numerous supernatual events--opens up to Yeshua. He finally confesses that he partook in the crucifixion, and Yeshua puts him at ease by reminding Clavius of something he had said perhaps the day prior. He had emphatically said something like "there will be no killing today" while defusing a situation. Of course, under normal circumstances, there would be almost no way or very unlikely that Yeshua would know this since he was not present. Sure it may have been possible that someone told him, although there would be no reason to do so. Regardless, Clavius just knew that he was amid a supernatural person... as he had already observed it first hand. This scene displayed the subtle style of the film.

The movie ends with Yeshua saying a few parting words as he walked towards the rising sun, and finally disappears into it. This at least suggests a connection with Horus, Egyptian mythology, and more ancient sun cult stories... and a symbolic tie-in with "the Sun," "the light of the world," or "our risen savior" (every morning). It's possible that this was a more subtle symbol. My guess is that the filmmakers displayed a clear tie-in with Horus. There was also the fish symbolism, which was not nearly as clear or dramatic as the sun symbology.

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