The Tale of the Ark (1909)
Labels: Children, Noah, Silent Bible Films
Looking at film interpretations of the stories in the Bible - past, present and future, as well as preparation for a future work on Straub/Huillet's Moses und Aron and a few bits and pieces on biblical studies.
Labels: Children, Noah, Silent Bible Films
These scant clues emerge from the various conversations with a girl from the nearby village and a growing group of her friends. A title informs us that this is Capernaum AD26 and the girl approaches Jesus holding a (broken?) doll that evokes the scene in King of Kings (1927) where Jesus uses carpentry rather than a miracle to restore a girl's broken doll.
When she asks Jesus tells the girl he is a travelling craftsman which includes carpentry, only the conversation summarises a fairly accurate translation of the Greek word tektōn with far more graceful writing than my explanation suggests. This goes some way to explaining the extensive gear he has with him, both for carpentry and for camping, I find myself momentarily wondering how he manages to transport it all.
Nevertheless the opening scenes bring home to me some of the practical implications of that well known verse from Matt 8:20 "foxes have dens…but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head". It's rare in Jesus films to see him and his disciples sleeping anywhere besides the open air, or in a rudimentary bed in a home, but of course Jesus (in time with his disciples) was a travelling preacher and must have spent many nights on the road with nowhere to sleep. I have no idea how widely-used the tents that St Paul made were, but this does make me think differently about the day to day practicalities of travelling around a variety of Galilean villages. But it soon becomes clear that this isn't just a fleeting point, it's one of the major points of the episode. More or less, the whole episode takes place in and around Jesus' temporary camp.
The other major theme of this episode is emphasising that Jesus liked children and they liked him. This is certainly less original amongst Jesus films, but it's usually limited to a scene or two. Even The Miracle Maker (2000) where much of the action takes place from the point of view of Jairus' daughter can only devote a certain amount of time to it. Here however the series has a whole 30 minute episode to show Jesus interacting with children, without the burden of having to move on because there are three more miracles to squeeze in before the resurrection.
It's clear too that Jesus doesn't just peddle a childish version of his message, even if he blows raspberries and uses other techniques to gain their interest, build trust and make them feel welcome. He talks about the difference between intelligence and wisdom ("Many times smart men lack wisdom") and teaches them that the messiah might not meet expectations. At a first watch I thought this was peddling the idea that all Jews at this time had hopes for a military messiah, and it does voice that idea. (As Candida Moss explains here the Jews didn't share uniform expectations regarding Messiah. Different groups had very different ideas of what it meant including mythical readings, and multiple messiah-figures). Here, however, it's one of the children repeating something he's heard a rabbi say - it's hardly painted as a universal belief and Jesus here seems to encourage the children who specifically go to Torah school as well as praising those who have learnt what is taught in school even though they do not go.
I'm less taken by the extended scene in the middle where Jesus teaches the kids as they are all around sitting in a circle. There's just something unrealistic about it which makes the whole episode feel a bit too rose-tinted. Anyone who has had their own kids and/or tried to deliver "the serious" bit in a kids church group knows it rarely goes like this. I wonder if scenes like this - welcome as they are - maybe set unrealistic expectations. Jesus welcomed little children, but portraying him as such an exceptional children's worker feels a little much to me.
There's also something a little overly-innocent about the way Jesus spends huge amounts of time alone with these children. Perhaps there shouldn't be. It's a sad indictment on much of western society that a single man spending that much time alone with that many kids, would raise suspicion today, though partly this is because situations like this have been so abused in the past. The children's insistence that they keep it their friendship with Jesus a secret seems particularly odd in this respect. Again, Jesus is an exception - doubtless the filmmakers consider him far beyond such issues. Still, that line bothers me. Kids! Tell your parents if you meet strange men. Parents tell your kids to do likewise.
There are couple of nice artistic ideas in this episode. Firstly as nice foreshadowing of the resurrection when the children arrive at Jesus' camp early one day and one of them wonders if he's dead. Spoiler alert - he's not, but the tent and the way it's filmed foreshadow another time when people will arrive together, peer into a (possibly) similar hole/structure with uncertainty about if he that lay there the day before will reappear, and the relief when he does.
Secondly, the rain that falls during the final scene, following Jesus' departure, which director Dallas Jenkins reveals in comments after a screening was a late decision, is nevertheless a poetic and poignant one. There's a palpable sense of nostalgia in this episode embodied in this final moment. People of faith often talk about how their path through life is far from straightforward. One day everything is sunny and it feels like Jesus is there beaming down upon you; the next you're alone in the rain left nursing your memories.
Labels: Children, Chosen (The)
1 - The CreationI'm going to watch some of these episodes and report back. Judging by the comments on YouTube they inspired a strong connection in some of those who watched them when they were young.
2 - Cain and Abel
3 - The Story of Noah
4 - The Tower of Babel
5 - Abraham, the Forefather
6 - Sodom and Gomorrah
7 - Isaac and Ishmael
8 - Isaac's Destiny
9 - Jacob's Children
10 - Joseph's Triumph
11 - Moses, The Egyptian
12 - The Fire in the Desert
13 - Moses and the Pharaoh
14 - The Exodus
15 - Laws Carved in Stone
16 - Israel's Treachery
17 - New Alliance
18 - Jericho
19 - One king for Israel
20 - King Saul
21 - King David
22 - King Solomon
23 - The Exile of Israel
24 - Release from Bondage
25 - Prophets in the Desert
26 - The Birth of Jesus
Labels: Animation, Children, In the Beginning (Tezuka)
Labels: Animation, Children, Nativity - Mary Joseph, Silent Bible Films, Silent Jesus Films
Labels: Children, Nativity - Mary Joseph, The Star
Labels: Animation, Children, Moses, Prince of Egypt
Labels: Children
Labels: Animation, Children, Genesis, Joseph (Genesis), Prince of Egypt
Labels: Children
* Episode 1: Creation and Flood (25 mins)For those not familiar with the series, it was made by the same team who went on to create The Miracle Maker, and like that film they use a variety of different animated techniques across the series - although they stick to one technique per episode. Whilst the films certainly are suitable for children, they have a fairly grown up take on things - don't think for a minute that they are just for the kids - and the animated medium used is itself often very expressionistic.
* Episode 2: Abraham (25 mins) - pictured
* Episode 3: Moses (27 mins)
* Episode 4: Jonah (26 mins)
* Episode 5: Ruth (25 mins)
* Episode 6: Elijah (27 mins)
* Episode 7: Joseph (26 mins)
* Episode 8: David and Saul (27 mins)
* Episode 9: Daniel (24 mins)
Labels: Bible Films in Production, Children
Nebuchadnezzar conquers Jerusalem - (Dan 1:1-2)So it misses out the incident where Daniel and his friends request a special diet from Dan 1; The story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Dan 3); and the story of Nebuchadnezzar's madness (Dan 4). Given that the story is aimed at younger children these omissions all make some kind of sense. Trying to explain diet restrictions to younger children from another, ancient, culture is fairly difficult I imagine. Likewise introducing three other characters whilst Daniel is off screen might be distracting, and there's a fair bit of repetition in the telling of Nebuchadnezzar's second dream.
Daniel and friends in Babylon - (Dan 1:3-7; 18-21)
Nebuchadnezzar's dream - (Dan 2:1-49)
Belshazzar's banquet - (Dan 5:1-31)
Daniel in the Lion's Den - (Dan 6:1-28)
Nebuchadnezzar conquers Jerusalem - (Dan 1:1-2, 6)There are obviously fewer stories here, which partly reflects the shorter running time. The account of Nebuchadnezzar's conquest of Jerusalem is shorter still, just the briefest of prologues. The only other story included (other than that of the Lions' Den) is that of Nebuchadnezzar's first dream. Strangely, the content of the dream is never revealed or discussed. It simply forms the motive for the wise men who then plot against Daniel.
Nebuchadnezzar's dream - (Dan 2:1-13, 25-30, 48)
Daniel in the Lion's Den - (Dan 6:1-28)
Labels: Children, Epic Stories of the Bible, Moses, Ten Commandments (2007)
Labels: Bible Films in Production, Children, Friends and Heroes