I was impressed by the plot, the dialog, the acting, and the message in the movie "The Messiah" (2001) by Kingdom Entertainment. The story was written by Albert Israeli as a testimony of an observer of Christ in the first century from the perspective of a disbelieving Jewish family.
It was a simple story in a simple setting with a simple message: faith is personal.
The acting was authentic. The emotions of several characters ranged from believe to reluctant curiosity to outright hostility. The plot development revealed gradual character growth and understanding without the feeling of phony "miraculous" conversions. All the actors did a convincing and commendable job of representing their characters. Nick Mancuso as Judah did a wonderful job as a rabbi delicately witnessing to a truth that was difficult for his Jewish relatives to hear. The finale showed how those same characters had moved along the spectrum of faith without all of them achieving a confident belief that the Messiah had really come.
The environment for Judah's testimony was also very interesting and probably very appealing to a contemporary Jewish audience. By placing the narrative within the context of the family Passover meal it made the life of Christ resonate along side the history of the Exodus. The teaching moment of the hand of God bringing His people out of Egypt complements the message of the Messiah in Israel.
In the end, "The Messiah", is seen by each family member in a different way with a different level of faith. The outcome of Judah's personal witness then is consistent with the same situation today. The movie reminds us that humanity hasn't changed much since the time of Jesus. Faith is still a personal invitation that each of us must struggle with before accepting or rejecting.
It was a simple story in a simple setting with a simple message: faith is personal.
The acting was authentic. The emotions of several characters ranged from believe to reluctant curiosity to outright hostility. The plot development revealed gradual character growth and understanding without the feeling of phony "miraculous" conversions. All the actors did a convincing and commendable job of representing their characters. Nick Mancuso as Judah did a wonderful job as a rabbi delicately witnessing to a truth that was difficult for his Jewish relatives to hear. The finale showed how those same characters had moved along the spectrum of faith without all of them achieving a confident belief that the Messiah had really come.
The environment for Judah's testimony was also very interesting and probably very appealing to a contemporary Jewish audience. By placing the narrative within the context of the family Passover meal it made the life of Christ resonate along side the history of the Exodus. The teaching moment of the hand of God bringing His people out of Egypt complements the message of the Messiah in Israel.
In the end, "The Messiah", is seen by each family member in a different way with a different level of faith. The outcome of Judah's personal witness then is consistent with the same situation today. The movie reminds us that humanity hasn't changed much since the time of Jesus. Faith is still a personal invitation that each of us must struggle with before accepting or rejecting.
