This author was wary about seeing Ridley Scott's latest film, Exodus: Gods and Kings, because the reviews weren't great, and Scott has a checkered past in my book (Prometheus). But he also did Gladiator, which was quite exceptional. Exodus: Gods and Kings is an astonishing achievement, and there's much more to it than meets the eye. Who doesn't like films which create that 'time machine feeling' of really being there? This author has studied ancient Egypt for fifty years, and has been to tombs and temples. This a very real film:
So why are so-called sophisticated people rejecting it? The film is a global hit, and has grossed well over $282 million. The discrepancy is based largely on the fact that most viewers are Bible-illiterate these days, and have no idea what ancient life and people were really like. Fact is, the real Exodus story is (as some critics have said) "heavy-handed" and a "slap in the face" if you're a worshiper of power, a lover of wealth, and can't stand "judgments".
Exodus: Gods and Kings is long and painful to watch at times, but is a genuine and powerful drama - as ancient life often was. Scott pulls out every stop, and creates a shockingly realistic and soul-wrenching psychodrama. Nobody in it is wooden or uninvolved, and the cast is masterful and engaging. Christian Bale is at his best, along with Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley, and a cast of new actors who look like they stepped out of the ancient world already formed. More than 15,000 people were involved in the production.
It's the perfect film for our age in that the core issue facing us right now is exactly the same one Exodus deals with: Power over Truth. Which will win? Do men with power define truth? Or does God? Some of you are saying that's the core issue of the whole Bible, and you're right.
Pharaoh Rameses never would give up, nor would his armies, even after the ten plagues that were so horrible they almost defy description. In the same way our modern Ruling Class will NEVER give up. They prove it again and again as our modern plagues have no effect. We must - somehow - escape from their malevolent influence. Like the Egyptians, they're doomed to suffer in their hell forever, and we can't let them drag us down with them.
How can we escape from this psychic Egypt? Exodus shows us the way. Pray to God, and have courage. It's hard work, but we'll be enslaved until we do. The rewards for working with the Lord of All Creation are inconceivably wonderful.
Perhaps you're skeptical - as I once was - that the Exodus story contains any truth at all? You might be surprised to discover that this and many other Bible stories and characters have now been verified by recent archaeological evidence.
The Israelites Crossing the Red Sea:
