Risen

[miliosr]

I went to see the film Risen this weekend.

Risen, which is set in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus Christ's death by crucifixtion, tells the tale of a Roman soldier (played by Joseph Fiennes) who has the unenviable task of finding the body when it goes missing after the third day. Even though the film is very clearly designed to appeal to viewers with a strong Christian faith, you don't need to have any faith at all to enjoy the movie. The reason for this is that the movie has a novel conceit: it depicts events in 33 A.D. Jerusalem as if the viewer were watching a Roman Empire version of modern day procedurals like Crime Scene Investigation or Law&Order.

Fiennes' character, Clavius, has to figure out what happened to the body in order to please his boss, Pontius Pilate. This leads to a number of slyly funny scenes where he's dragging in various people who were centered around Jesus Christ for questioning and gives them the old, "OK lady, tell me where you've hidden the body" speech. So, you get him interrogating Mary Magdalene and the apostle Bartholomew as well as various other residents of Jerusalem. Part of the fun is that, viewed from Clavius' point-of-view, these people really do sound bizarre with their claims that Jesus (or Yeshua, as he's referred to in the movie) has risen from the dead and that a new spirit has entered the world.

Eventually, the film moves into true religious belief territory and that part of the movie may not be of much interest to non-religious viewers. But up to that point, the movie is entertaining in its way.

The movie is very well cast with Fiennes as Clavius, Tom Felton as his inexperienced second-in-command Lucius, Peter Firth as Pontius Pilate, Maria Botto as Mary Magdalene and Cliff Curtis as Jesus/Yeshua.

Grade: B+

[Natalia]

Went last night with hubby and was pleasantly surprised. Very well made and touching movie, regardless of religion.

[dirac]

The reason for this is that the movie has a novel conceit: it depicts events in 33 A.D. Jerusalem as if the viewer were watching a Roman Empire version of modern day procedurals like Crime Scene Investigation or Law&Order.

"We gotta find out where He holes up at night." -- The Robe

[Cygnet]

I saw it Sunday. It's an excellent film. Ralph Fiennes (Tribune Clavius) and Peter Firth (Pontius Pilate), gave superlative performances.

[miliosr]

"We gotta find out where He holes up at night." -- The Robe

"Truly, this man was the Son of Gaawd!!" -- John Wayne as the centurion in The Greatest Story Ever Told

Very well made and touching movie, regardless of religion.

It's an excellent film.

I agree with both comments. Unfortunately, the religious theme may deter it from attracting a mass audience. Also, I don't know how much the studio is promoting it outside of religious channels. When I mentioned I had seen it to a family member, a friend and a co-worker, no one had heard of it.

[sandik]

I've seen a couple of ads on television, so it's not totally under the radar.

When I was younger, all the swords and sandals films played on television over the Easter holiday weekend.