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Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Noah 2014 - a movie who retells the Bible in a modern way (spoilers!)

     
       I have just finished watching Noah, a 2014 film written and directed by Darren Aronovsky (Ari Handel was the co-writer), two people with interesting insight... why do I say this? Because, after watching this movie, I was left with a pretty deep impression about their vision of that biblic episode - although it does not follow the Bible closely. The characters which used to be just some names in the Old Testament, suddenly became people with desires, with shortcomings, with insecurities, with problems.

           Of course that the must-have overdrama effect of any Hollywood movie is still there, and so are the CG effects...and the Watchers, whose purpose I could not understand at first (I thought I was watching another copy of the Transformers) - but in the end, they turned out to be okay (see below)!

         Needless to say, I was impressed by the performances of Russell Crowe and Emma Watson - one, a mountain of an actor, the other, a talent in bloom - man, they really knew how to pull this whole thing off~!


        I also enjoyed the script - at first, I kept finding faults in the differences the script presented as opposed to the Bible - for example, a Watcher, if it is considered a fallen angel, would have to be evil, not good - instead, they proved to be a real help for Noah while building the boat! So the writer, in the end, decided to offer them the ultimate reward - a chance at redemption, therefore the regaining of the lost paradise - who could ask for more?


       That who wrote that final Watcher scene was so witty - according to theology, all a fallen/evil angel must do to regain the lost paradise is ask for forgiveness and admit their mistake - however, they decide to persist in their mistake, as they consider that their judgements are final and cannot be changed - that is why Heaven is lost for them! If only there could be a chance for them too! The writer decided to give them that chance - I do not know if to call that naivete or hope - I am human, so I will decide to go on hoping - perhaps, if we all prayed for a little bit of help from God to make the fallen angels see their mistake, the world would look differently (as you can see, I am really naive!) 


       Plus, there are so many other subtle connections throughout the movie, to art and philosophy and other fields (the Creation of Man by Michelangelo, the belief that Man is the measure of all things or the healing serpent, to name a few), one should be thrilled while discovering them!

       I also cleared myself a few misunderstandings - how the animals were kept together for months without eating each other - they were put to sleep - how clever on the scriptwriter's part! - how Noah, a just man, just accepted to let so many humans die: he thought they were going to die, too, after getting off that Arc, and he was so deeply affected by his choice - proof of his drunken state after they got off the Arc - a slightly different interpretation from the Bible, who presented the facts in bright colors.


       And let's not forget the hidden secret of Matusalem's long life (Matusalem was Noah's grandfather, by the way) - he kept drinking tea made from seeds from the Tree of Life, passed onto generation from the Garden of Eden so he never got old - smart guy!

 
        The story of The Creation was also described beautifully - I bet the director and the CG editor had a blast imagining it!

        And let's not forget the last scene with the peace sign - now that is a river of rainbows all over the sky! Rainbow was God's promise to mankind that He will keep mankind alive till the end of Time so it was only fitting that it will end that way!

        In the end, Noah should be watched not necessarily for its close accounting of the Bible and religious insight, but rather for its cinematographic value and beautiful aesthetics and effects - and someone familiar with the biblic episode of the Great Flood will know how to discern between real biblical facts and the movie fictional facts - however, I believe it could be a pretty good incentive in reading the Bible and finding more about religion.        

      Still, if you wish to be trully feel connected to the Christian religion, better try watching movies like The Passion of Christ directed by Mel Gibson, The Mission directed by Roland Joffe, or my favorite, Francesco e Chiara, an italian movie about the life of Saint Francis - you will be impressed!

      For more differences between the movie and the Biblic episode of the Flood, you can read further here :

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