Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Eyes to see and ears to hear
Amongst a flurry of criticism against Christian films, a new movie, portraying a black Jesus and set in Africa, seeks to highlight the political tone of the gospels. Son of Man is screening as part of the Sundance Film Festival.
Shot against the backdrop of a violence-riddled township and with text updated to modern time, Son of Man delivers one indelible impression after another. Mary conceives the Christ child during a militia attack on a grade school, Jesus asks for the surrender of handguns from his apostles, and the angel Gabriel is a precocious child marked with simple white feathers. Equally intriguing is the melding of the crucifixion and resurrection–alluding to the fact that in today's Africa, political dissidents, as Jesus was, are conveniently made to disappear.
Sundance website
Positioning the gospel in an occupied state.
Jesus as marginalised.
Jesus as politically challenging.
I think there's a good chance that the production team understands something of the gospels.
But do we have eyes to see and ears to hear what the spirit is screening?
Craig (mars-hill) Wednesday, January 25, 2006
