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\u201cSo we meet again<\/strong>,\u201d says Moses to the Pharoah of Egypt, in Exodus:\u00a0 Gods and Kings<\/strong>\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I first reviewed E: G&K<\/strong><\/em> in my other blog. (E: G&K<\/em> is the “2014 biblically-inspired<\/a> action<\/a>–adventure<\/a> film directed by Ridley Scott<\/a>.”\u00a0 Stars included Christian Bale<\/a>,\u00a0John Turturro<\/a>,\u00a0Sigourney Weaver<\/a>, and Ben Kingsley<\/a>, in a “loose interpretation<\/em> of the exodus<\/a> of the Hebrews from Egypt as led by Moses<\/a> and related in the Book of Exodus<\/a>.”\u00a0 See Exodus: Gods and Kings – Wikipedia<\/a>.)<\/p>\n So anyway, this shorter version of that earlier review has been “edited for content.”\u00a0 As in:<\/p>\n The following … has been modified from its original version.\u00a0 It has been formatted to fit this screen, to run in the time allotted and edited for content…<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n (Re-edited film<\/a>.)\u00a0 The original review is at On \u201cExodus: G&K<\/a>,” but here are some highlights.\u00a0 (From which I came up with a brand-new ending…)<\/p>\n To begin with it’s only natural to compare the 2014 film with Cecil B. DeMille’s Ten Commandments<\/em> (1956 film) – Wikipedia<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0 Which brings up the anomaly<\/em> \u2013 to some people anyway \u2013 that in the Ridley Scott version, God<\/em><\/strong> is portrayed by an 11-year-old boy:<\/p>\n If there\u2019s anything daring in Scott and his screenwriters\u2019 take on this oft-told tale \u2026\u00a0 it\u2019s the decision to depict God, or his earthly iteration, as a bratty kid with an English accent<\/strong>.\u00a0 As Moses struggles with issues of faith, madness, and spousal neglect \u2026 this pint-size Brit (Isaac Andrews) challenges Moses to rise to the occasion.\u00a0 The lad warns the beleaguered Hebrew of the coming plagues, browbeats him, taunts him.\u00a0 If you want a less portentous title for this big and curious cinematic endeavor, The Prophet and the Pip-squeak<\/em><\/strong> could work nicely. (E.A.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n See \u2018Exodus: Gods and Kings\u2018: God as a bratty kid<\/a>, and also Ridley Scott chooses 11-year-old boy as voice of God<\/a>.\u00a0 Which brings up the fact that the actual<\/em> name of the character is Malak<\/em>:\u00a0 \u201cSacred texts give no specific depiction of God, so for centuries artists and filmmakers have had to choose their own visual depiction\u2026\u00a0\u00a0 Malak<\/em><\/strong> [the \u201cGod character\u2019] exudes innocence and purity, and those two qualities are extremely powerful.\u201d\u00a0 (See Ridley Scott chooses<\/a>…)<\/p>\n And that’s not to mention Angel of the Lord – Wikipedia<\/a>, which included the image at left, “The Angel of the Lord<\/em> appearing to Hagar in the wilderness.”\u00a0 (“The biblical word for angel, \u05de\u05dc\u05d0\u05da malak<\/i>, … translates simply as ‘messenger…'”)<\/p>\n So right from the start we have a controversy.\u00a0 Aside from that, the film got lukewarm<\/a> reviews like:\u00a0 Very predictable<\/a>, Historic mistake<\/a>, and Ridley Scott made this movie out of contempt<\/a>.\u00a0 The third review said \u201chas a personal grudge against all Christians<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n But as the Nathan Lane character said near the end of The Birdcage<\/a>, “Not necessarily<\/em><\/strong>.”\u00a0 (Which is being interpreted, “Not all reviewers feel that way…”)<\/p>\n To me the movie was well-paced, taut, and featured a compelling love story between Moses and his wife Zipporah<\/a>.\u00a0 And it showed the human price of becoming a Biblical icon: having to leave your wife and first-born son to “do your duty.”\u00a0 Finally, the Moses played by\u00a0Christian Bale<\/a> was<\/em> more human, more like us today and therefore more believable.<\/p>\n The film starts with Moses at the height of his military prowess.\u00a0 He’s a proud, self-sufficient warrior with little or no patience for the reading of entrails<\/em> (see Haruspex \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>) or other religious superstitions of the time.\u00a0 But later on he “wrestles with the idea<\/em> of God” after he finds out he’s actually the son of Hebrew slaves.\u00a0 Then too this more-human Moses has his times of great doubt, and sometimes feels abandoned by God.\u00a0 (Or at least that God isn\u2019t there when he needs Him\u2026)\u00a0 The Moses in E: G&K<\/strong><\/em> is unlike what we\u2019ve been led to expect because<\/em><\/strong> he is so full of pride and stubbornness and self-doubt, just like we “mere mortals” are today.<\/p>\n Another thing the movie got right was how Moses aged as a result of shouldering such great responsibility.\u00a0 E: G&K<\/strong><\/em> ends with Moses riding in a wagon, with the Ark of the Covenant in the back. \u00a0(This was after the parting of the Red Sea and after he was re-united with his family, but before the 40 years of Wandering in the Wilderness that were coming up.<\/em>) \u00a0 Up to this point in the movie, Moses had appeared youthful and dark-haired. \u00a0But as the movie ends, Moses looks pretty much like the old guy portrayed in the painting,\u00a0Victory O Lord!<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 (Shown below.)<\/p>\n Wikipedia<\/a> said the painting “illustrates a passage in the Book of Exodus”<\/a> – the Battle of Rephidim<\/a><\/i> in chapter 17 – “which describes how Moses and his two companions watched the battle from the hill.”\u00a0 (Briefly, when he was \u201cwatching the game\u201d from a mountain-top, Moses saw that when he held his hands up<\/em><\/strong>, his team started winning.\u00a0 But if he let his hands down<\/strong><\/em>, his team started losing\u2026\u00a0 See also the Intro<\/a> to the DOR Scribe<\/a> blog.)<\/p>\n Thus Moses had “aged” in way not unlike Jesus, as He<\/em> was described in John 8:57<\/a>, “‘You are not yet fifty years old,’ they said to him, ‘and you have seen Abraham!'”<\/p>\n That’s strange, because according to tradition, Jesus was 33 years old when He was crucified.\u00a0 See Jesus year | Dictionary of Christianese<\/a>.\u00a0 And yet, like the Moses shown at the end of Exodus: Gods and Kings<\/em>, Jesus at the end of His ministry seems to have aged greatly, “<\/span>being a man of sorrows and acquainted with griefs, as well as of great gravity.”\u00a0 (Biblehub<\/a>, and specifically the Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/a><\/span> interpretation of John 8:57.)<\/p>\n Which is something like what happened to Abraham Lincoln after four years as president:<\/p>\n He arrived at the White House as a sinewy 6-foot-4, 180-pound strongman.\u00a0 In the course of four years, he dropped 30 pounds.\u00a0 \u201cHe was sunken-eyed and grizzled, nothing like that bright-eyed lawyer of Springfield [and] looks 75 years old, but he\u2019s 56.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Which leads to two final points.\u00a0 First:\u00a0 To the icons<\/a> that we choose to throw our cares and responsibilities on – like Moses – we followers are pretty much a pain in the neck<\/a>.<\/p>\n Second:\u00a0 Exodus: Gods and Kings<\/em><\/strong> is a pretty good movie and well worth seeing, if only in the interest of broadening your horizons<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The upper image is courtesy of Ridley Scott chooses 11-year-old boy as voice of God<\/b> in Moses movie<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The lower image is courtesy of Victory O Lord! – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n Re:\u00a0 On \u201cExodus: G&K,\u201d the movie<\/a>.\u00a0 Check out the “Part II” at On Exodus (Part II) and Transfiguration<\/a>.\u00a0 The latter review included “some things the movie left out:”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n For one thing, it didn\u2019t mention Moses writing the first five books of the Bible, the Torah<\/a> or Pentateuch<\/em>.\u00a0 For another thing, it left out the part about Moses\u2019 father-in-law \u201cinventing the Supreme Court.\u201d\u00a0 See On Jethro inventing the supreme court<\/a>.\u00a0 Third, the\u00a0 movie left out Zipporah telling Moses, \u201cYou are a bridegroom of blood to me!<\/strong><\/em>\u201c\u00a0 That was in <\/span>Exodus 4:25<\/a>, one of the \u201cmore unusual, curious, and much-debated passages of the Pentateuch<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 See Zipporah at the inn \u2013 Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Re:\u00a0 Abraham Lincoln “ageing” in office.\u00a0\u00a0 See The Age of Obama: Timelapse of President Barack Obama<\/a>…\u00a0 The site included a before-and-after set of pictures of Abraham Lincoln:<\/em><\/p>\n He arrived at the White House as a sinewy 6-foot-4, 180-pound strongman. In the course of four years, he dropped 30 pounds. \u201cHe was sunken-eyed and grizzled, nothing like that bright-eyed lawyer of Springfield,\u201d said Von Drehle. Lincoln sat for a famous series of portraits, and \u201cby the last set of photographs, he looks 75 years old, but he\u2019s 56.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n David Von Drehle wrote \u201cRise to Greatness:\u00a0 Abraham Lincoln and America\u2019s Most Perilous Year<\/a>.”<\/em><\/p>\n Re: Nathan Lane and The Birdcage – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia<\/a>.\u00a0 Nathan Lane<\/a> played Albert Goldman:\u00a0 “Armand Goldman is the openly gay owner of a drag club<\/a> in South Beach<\/a> called The Birdcage and his partner Albert<\/strong> is ‘Starina’ the star attraction of the club and is a very effeminate and flamboyant man.”\u00a0 See also: English Script for “The Birdcage” (03)_wallistian_\u65b0\u6d6a\u535a\u5ba2<\/a><\/em>:<\/p>\n Val:<\/strong> Dad, couldn\u2019t the Keeleys slip out without being noticed at the end of the show?<\/em><\/p>\n Armand:<\/strong> No, they\u2019re waiting for that. They\u2019d be recognized in two seconds.<\/em><\/p>\n Albert:<\/strong> Not necessarily.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/6\/6c\/Nicolas_Colombel_001.jpg\/300px-Nicolas_Colombel_001.jpg\")
And incidentally, Wikipedia defined Malak<\/a> as \u201cthe Semitic word for \u2018angel<\/a>.’\u201d\u00a0 See also Strong\u2019s Hebrew: 4397. \u05de\u05b7\u05dc\u05b0\u05d0\u05b8\u05da (malak)<\/a><\/em>.)<\/p>\n\n
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