Rented the movie The Young Messiah which was released theatrically early this year but I missed. This is a faith-based movie about a seven year old Jesus as he (along with Joseph and Mary, his aunt and uncle, and a cousin) return from exile in Egypt and play a deadly game of cat and mouse with a Roman soldier tasked to find and kill him. The Roman soldier is played by Sean Bean but most everyone is seem to be unknowns… not bad but unknown.
This is a Christian film and its one of the better ones I’ve seen. It’s not preachy or sanctimonious while also being completely honest in its faith. These are religious people who may not know what God wants but knows that God wants something and they don’t rage against it nor do they go overboard preaching it. It’s just a fact in their world. I like this angle – not talking down to the audience and not too cool for the religious room (like that weird Noah movie with Russell Crowe).
The angle the movie takes is that Jesus doesn’t know the whole story and is confused by his ability to resurrect small birds and heal people. Something is going on and he isn’t sure what – his parents want to ensure that he remains an innocent boy, living a normal life (for the time). Unfortunately, this is kind of the premise of some stand-up routines I’ve heard and, frankly, we not only know how the story ends, but we know nothing terrible can happen to him at seven. But, within those confines, I was very surprised by how much I liked this movie. It’s out to affirm people’s faith but it doesn’t drive it home too hard like many such films do.
So, yeah, a better than expected movie that I kind of wished I’d seen at the theaters. It’s not on the God’s Not Dead level of holier-than-thou self-righteous preaching-to-the-already-converted type movies. Anyone could enjoy the movie though I suspect deeply faithful people might get more out of it (assuming they aren’t offended by some non-canonical storytelling).
Score: 83