Last fall my wife called the house from work. She said she’d just seen the online trailer for the new movie about the story of Esther and that we were going to see it as soon as she came home. I knew better than to argue. Most people didn’t even hear about One Night with the King. It got little advertising and limited distribution (909 theaters). It earned 4.3 million dollars in its opening weekend, finishing ninth overall—pretty respectable for a Bible movie and grassroots advertising.

The One You Missed

I realized in the first 10 minutes what kind of movie it would be: a romance story that would take liberties with the biblical text in order to tell a story in a way that would be interesting on film while also trying to be faithful to the primary plot and themes of the biblical book. Once I was satisfied the movie was going to try to be true to the spirit of Esther if not the letter, I sat back, relaxed, and said to myself, “Okay, I can handle the liberties; let’s see how they make the story interesting.” The movie was a bit overly romantic, even cheesy, but it worked. I liked it. I even liked the way they filled in some blanks to bring the life of the Jews under Babylonian captivity to light. The plot additions were acceptable, even surprising and interesting. The acting was decent, the costumes and sets wonderfully exotic. The production level and special effects were excellent.

It occurred to me that this is an excellent movie for families to see for a great learning experience. If you missed One Night with the King, rent or buy it on DVD and, after you watch it with your family, take time to read the book of Esther together and talk about how the movie got it right, how it got it wrong, and how its additions help you appreciate the biblical book more (or how the additions may lead people to wrong beliefs about Esther). This movie can be a great tool for Bible study.

The One You Saw

The Nativity Story got a lot more advertising and distribution and odds are you saw it last December. I don’t know if I liked it or not. I know that I wanted to, but I was expecting more. I guess I wanted Passion of the Christ power and didn’t get it. I didn’t like the angel, Mary’s acting was hit and miss, and the director couldn’t decide whether to make a historical film or one meant to appeal to our traditional images of the nativity. I loved the magi—great humor. And I loved several moments where the blanks were filled in, improving our understanding of the biblical narrative. There’s so little we know about Joseph that to portray him in a movie can only be done by adding material. In this film we see the man who struggled with his wife’s apparent infidelity, and though the Bible barely describes his conflict, I think the movie’s description adds positively to our understanding of what it was like for the “stepfather” of Jesus. And I appreciated very much the focus on Mary. It’s far too easy for us to skip over the gritty reality of her story—to read the passages in Matthew or Luke at Christmas time and not see what an amazing sacrifice she made.

Start with this: can any of you women see yourself volunteering to become pregnant? And before you’re married? And when you’re still a teen? And in a society where your pregnancy, once it begins to show, could get you not only ostracized by all your friends and family but even stoned to death? Think about that. Then think about traveling pregnant in the heat, without family (or your obstetrician) when you go into labor, and having to give birth in a barn. Imagine being the husband having to watch all this happen without knowing what to do or from where help will come. It’s easy to miss the concrete reality that really is there in the Gospels. The movie helps us see what’s written there, just between the lines.

A Hopeful Future

This is an exciting time. The Passion of the Christ has paved the way for big budget, nationally released Bible movies. I wanted the Bible movies of 2006 to be a little bit better, but I’ll take what we got. Both One Night with the King and The Nativity Story are valuable. They give us opportunities for learning even with their flaws. I’ve written before that it’s important for us to be aware of how much influence we can have in Hollywood by our spending. I don’t know if I’ll buy these films for my DVD collection when they come out, but I know I’ll rent and watch them again. And the few dollars we spend supporting such films will keep Hollywood producers interested in Bible movies for 2007 and for years to come. |L

Dr. Charlie Starr teaches English, Humanities, and Film at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Kentucky.

OTHER COLUMNS:
November 8, 2009 - Why I believe in God
October 25, 2009 - Commuting in days of evil
October 11, 2009 - Poets and don’t know it
September 27, 2009 - How Hollywood proves abortion is wrong
September 13, 2009 - Significance
August 30, 2009 - Dance alternatives
August 16, 2009 - Gluttons for gossip
August 2, 2009 - Truth from Twilight
July 19, 2009 - Visitor-friendly churches
July 5, 2009 - The Shack
June 21, 2009 - When forgiveness fails
June 7, 2009 - Re-imagining Education (Part Six)
May 24, 2009 - We are not alone
May 3, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part five)
April 26, 2009 - Conviction
April 12, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part four)
March 29, 2009 - An evangelistic proposal
March 15, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part three)
March 1, 2009 - He makes me sick
February 15, 2009 - Re-imagining education (Part Two)
February 1, 2009 - Spiritual insecurity
January 18, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part one)
January 4, 2009 - Church and politics
December 21, 2008 - Heaven’s music
December 7, 2008 - The church and marriage
November 23, 2008 - God and the president
November 9, 2008 - A time for courage
October 26, 2008 - Likes and dislikes: the Prince Caspian movie
October 12, 2008 - What’s that noise?
September 28, 2008 - Modesty matters (part two)
September 14, 2008 - All it takes is some TLC
August 31, 2008 - Modesty matters (part one)
August 17, 2008 - What would you fight for?
August 3, 2008 - Staying through the credits
July 20, 2008 - Honor to whom honor
July 6, 2008 - Tyler Perry and the movies you’re missing
June 22, 2008 - The peaceable kingdom
May 25, 2008 - Another generation grew up
May 25, 2008 - Technology and the Bible (part two)
May 11, 2008 - Technology and the Bible (part one)
April 27, 2008 - What is truth?
April 13, 2008 - And the geek shall inherit the earth
March 30, 2008 - A charactered God
March 16, 2008 - The college choice (part two)
March 2, 2008 - Good news can be hard to hear
February 17, 2008 - The college choice (part one)
February 5, 2008 - Ten suggestions for a godly standard of living
January 20, 2008 - Expelled: that “Bueller” guy’s pro-God movie
January 6, 2008 - Choosing a lifestyle
December 23, 2007 - Teachable TV?
December 9, 2007 - Owners or stewards?
November 25, 2007 - Christians teaching Christians to change TV and film
November 11, 2007 - My money is God’s business
October 28, 2007 - Navigating under the radar
October 14, 2007 - The things God values
September 30, 2007 - Movie moments
September 16, 2007 - God’s economics
September 2, 2007 - The best books to read
August 19, 2007 - There’s a rat in ‘separate’
August 5, 2007 - The art of reading
July 22, 2007 - Atheist chic
July 8, 2007 - Why books matter: the sequel
June 10, 2007 - Books: why they matter
June 3, 2007 - The non-impact of “The Lost Tomb of Jesus”
May 27, 2007 - The universal gospel
May 13, 2007 - Loving Muslims through culture
April 29, 2007 - Hope
April 15, 2007 - God in the dark
April 1, 2007 - The gospel goes to the movies
March 4, 2007 - What will you hurt for?
February 18, 2007 - Why Heroes . . .
February 4, 2007 - Give peace a chance
January 21, 2007 - When fairy tales are true
January 7, 2007 - WYSIWYG lives
December 31, 2006 - What’s coming next?
December 17, 2006 - Mercy, mercy
December 3, 2006 - Proof of evolution!
November 19, 2006 - Hungering for God
November 5, 2006 - Violence and government, war and peace
October 22, 2006 - The mighty meek
October 8, 2006 - The Battlestar and the Bible
September 24, 2006 - Soap for the soul
September 10, 2006 - Right vs. cool
August 27, 2006 - The painful truth
August 13, 2006 - More Lies Hollywood Tells
July 30, 2006 - Christian counter culture
July 16, 2006 - The lies Hollywood tells