The Final Inquiry (L'Inchiesta)

For many people, Ridley Scott's Gladiator is the film responsible for the recent resurgence in epic films. Grand battle scenes, larger than life characters, yet at the heart of it, it's about one man's solitary quest. Others point to the influence of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. Braveheart may have been the film that really set the epic wheels in motion, but it was The Passion which inspired a legion of movies that were linked to the Bible.

There are elements of both films in The Final Inquiry starring Dolph Lundgren and Monica Cruz - two actors who, for very different reasons, it's best not to cross in case you ever met them in person. Like Gladiator the action starts in Germania as a noble Roman soldier (Titus Valerius Taurus) leads his troops into victory against the local scraggy-blond Barbarians. There's a dying and noble emperor, double dealing enemies, and a muscular sidekick all crammed in to a whistle-stop tour of the Roman Empire.The film's link to The Passion is more direct. Set just a few months after the death of Jesus, Emperor Tiberius sends Titus to get to the bottom of what exactly happened on the day when, all over the empire, the sky clouded over. So Titus heads to Jerusalem where he talks with various characters who crop up in the gospels.

The continuity with The Passion is further enhanced by Hristo Shopov reprising his role as Pontius Pilate. Much has changed for Pilate over the last few months - he's gained a few pounds, slipped into something more comfortable and learnt to speak English. But there's also some discontinuity as well. Christo Jivkov played John in The Passion, but here he appears as St. Stephen.

Titus is joined on his mission by an enslaved German called Brixos, played by Dolph Lundgren. Lundgren largely sticks to what he does best - roaring and swinging his axe around as he watches Titus's back. Meanwhile Titus also sparks up a friendship with Tabitha, a beautiful Jewish Christian.If all that sounds rather cliché-ridden, then, this is probably isn't the film for you. From the opening title sequence when a group of galloping Roman soldiers come to a halt just to hear Titus say "Forwards" and ride on; through to Tiberius's informant just managing to squeeze out the last vital bit of information before he dies; through to the slave who stays on as his master's friend even though he has just been freed, there are clichés aplenty.

However, clichés aside, the film is actually fairly watchable. There's enough interest in the first half of the film as Titus turns detective and tries to get to the bottom of the story, and there's sufficient chemistry between him and Tabitha (Cruz) to make the love story believable. And the film's use of flashbacks to tell the story of Jesus through Titus's eyes is an interesting approach to the material. It reflects the situation we find ourselves in today unable to meet Jesus face to face we have to put together the facts about him from the various pieces of evidence.

It's also interesting to see a pre-conversion Saul of Tarsus unashamedly played as the bad guy. Usually films that deal with Paul at this stage of his life portray him as a sort of hero in waiting. He may be misguided, and a little hotheaded, but generally he's noble in his own sort of way. Here, however, he lays into the already prostrate Stephen with such relish that it's easy to see why it required nothing less than a vision of the risen Jesus to cause him to convert. The portrayal of Peter (below) is also unconventional, although in this case it's less satisfying as Peter is shown as still living in Galilee.Overall though, the history's not too bad. There's no reason to believe that the sky turned black as far away as Capri, of course, or that if it did Tiberius would somehow link it to the death of Jesus. But otherwise it is true that Tiberius retired to Capri, where he did become somewhat reclusive, and that, as a result, his people held him in fairly low regard. The film does view him through somewhat rose-tinted spectacles though. It's no surprise when it turns out that the reasonably unhistorical reason for his final voyage to Rome is in order to convert the empire to Christianity. Unsurprisingly when his heir (Caligula) finds out about his uncle's plans, the film reverts back to more widely accepted historical territory.

By then, the elements that made the earlier parts of Final Inquiry work have long since been suffocated by the film's underlying agenda. Attempting to demonstrate the rationality of Christian belief, the second half of the film resorts to far fetched storylines. For example, at one point Caiaphas, Saul and Pilate attempt to persuade Titus that the resurrections of both Lazarus and Jesus were faked by poisoning him.

So overall, Final Inquiry is a mixed bag. Whilst it's never quite as bad as it could have been, a relatively promising start deteriorates rapidly as the story heads towards it's conclusion. The evidence Titus Valerius Taurus may have been enough to convince him, but it's unlikely to cause many people to seriously reconsider their previous conclusions.

More on The Final Inquiry

For a film that's due to be released on DVD next week, Fox Faith have surprisingly little news about The Final Inquiry on their website. There's a discussion guide and very little else. There's a little bit more on the film's dedicated site but it perhaps explains why I've had such a hard time getting hold of a copy of the DVD to review. There are, however, plenty of stills from this film here.

There are a few more bits on this film elsewhere. Greg Wright has interviewed Inquiry's star Dolph Lundgren, although he doesn't appear to have got a great deal out of him. The film is about "this rabble-rouser down in Palestine named Jesus", his character starts out as a "fierce warrior from the barbarian countries" but when he "observes this new religion being born" he's "transformed". As to his own faith, he notes that "as you get older... issues of faith become more of a conscious choice... You get more interested in life and death".Perhaps the most interesting comments on this film that I've read thus far are at Metro Movies

There’s a fascinating audacity to this whodunit set in Roman Palestine in the aftermath of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, from the tone to the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink plotting. With his faithful Goth servant (Dolph Lundgren) in tow, a Roman legionnaire named Tito Velerio Tauro (Daniele Liotti) is sent by the emperor Tiberius to investigate the death of a Jewish religious dissident in the Judean prefecture, a death that was apparently heralded across the empire by a sudden solar eclipse and earthquakes.

A sword and sandals film noir set in the blinding Middle Eastern sun, the film features a cast that includes F. Murray Abraham, Max Von Sydow, Ornella Muti and Monica Cruz, younger sister of Penelope Cruz, as the tragic Pharisee’s daughter and fledgling Christian that the legionnaire falls for amidst the back-stabbing and intrigues of Judea. Pontius Pilate and Saul of Tarsus – St. Paul after his Damascene conversion – are the main heavies, and authors of a cover-up that’s meant to strangle the Christian cult before it spreads beyond Israel.

It’s a collision of the devout and the wacky that’s probably unintended, especially during a scene where Tauro goes all Gil Grissom and does a CSI on what’s supposed to be Christ’s corpse. As with most films marketed under the Fox Faith banner, it’s hard to figure out just who the audience for something this odd is supposed to be.

I think Christianity Today are also planning to have a new piece on this film shortly.

New Release Date for The Final Inquiry

Peter Chattaway has the latest news on the Final Inquiry saga, the (sort of) sequel to The Passion of the Christ. It looks like the theatrical distribution part of Fox Faith has ended and that they are just concentrating on releasing DVDs. As far as this film is concerned it means that the plans for a "small theatrical" release in January 2008, followed by video at Easter which I reported in October have been scrapped. It will now go straight to DVD on February 19th.

New Release Date for The (Final) Inquiry

CT Movies has a piece on FoxFaith one year after its inception, which towards the end makes the following note about The Inquiry

The Final Inquiry, a made-for-TV movie in Italy (original title: L'Inchiesta), was one of those long listed as "coming soon" on the Fox Faith website, but Bixler says it will have a "small theatrical" release in January 2008, followed by video at Easter.

There's a little bit more on this announcement at FilmChat. Peter, who I believe has actually seen the film, says that he has been told that "the film has been re-cut" and speculates that it's most likely "the Dolph Lundgren fight scenes" which have faced the chop. He's also puzzled by the above Spanish poster which has titled the film En Busca De La Tumba De Cristo (In Search of the Tomb of Christ) - "I don't believe the location of the tomb is ever in question in this film".

Looking back over my previous posts on this film, I note that originally it was claimed that Sir Ben Kingsley was involved in this film, but that neither his name, nor his face, appear on the poster above, so it may also been that his scenes have been cut, or re-shot without him.

DVD News

There are a number of Bible films that have recently been released on DVD which I've yet to pass comment on.

Firstly, episodes 1 and 2 of the children's animated adventure series Friends and Heroes has been released. Friends and Heroes is currently showing at lunchtimes on CBBC. Initially, the DVDs are to be released through the official website. A Friends and Heroes DVD Club has also been set up for those wanting to get the whole series. The site also includes the release schedule for the remaining episodes, the next of which is released on 14th May. Releases of Series 2 will begin on the 21st January 2008.

Secondly, one of my favourite Jesus films, the animated film The Miracle Maker, was somehow re-released on the 6th March in a special edition without any of my usual sources or me noticing. That is, until my friend Steven D Greydanus of Decent Films found out. Steven also tipped off Peter Chattaway who has posted some interesting comments about the new DVD at FilmChat. The main extra that this disc has is a commentary with Derek Hayes (one of the directors) and one of the producers.

Last week, Peter also noted that the release of The Final Inquiry appears to have been delayed - a date is no longer given on the FoxFaith website.

I have also discussed previously the forthcoming releases of a The Gospel According to St. Matthew (colourised version) (26th March) and The Nativity Story (20th March).

News on The Inquiry (L'Inchiesta)

Just before Christmas, I mentioned that Hristo Shopov who played Pontius Pilate in The Passion of the Christ had reprised the role for The Inquiry (L'Inchiesta) which played at the Capri Hollywood Film Festival.

There's no news of a general release for the film yet, but according to the IMDb it will be playing at the Los Angeles Italian Film Festival on the 20 February 2007. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with actors Dolph Lundgren and Daniele Liotti and director Giulio Base. You can make reservations here.

There are also a number of pictures from the film at the Rai Fiction site as well as this plot synopsis

A beautiful, young Israeli woman, Tabitha, awakens to find her mother being stoned by a group of people for cheating on her father with a Roman soldier. In lower Germany, the great Roman warrior Tauro is charged by the Emperor Tiberius to travel to Jerusalem and find the truth behind the legend of a man, Jesus of Nazareth, who supposedly arose from the dead. When Tauro comes to Jerusalem, he encounters Tabitha and her grandmother, saving her from a petty mugger. Love sparks between the two, but she is forbidden to touch, much less speak to a Roman...

I imagine that it is the part of Tauro that the film's main star Dolph Lundgren will be playing. For some reason the combination of Dolph and a great Roman warrior called Tauro makes my expectations for the film slide considerably.

FilmChat also notes how The Inquiry might be being released on DVD by Fox Faith, but under the title The Final Inquiry

The Inquiry - The Revival of the Roman Christian Epic?

Yep, once again, I'm indebted to Peter Chattaway for highlighting a new bible related film. This time it's The Inquiry due to premiere at Capri Hollywood Film Festival in Italy, a couple of days after Christmas.

The Enquiry will star Hristo Shopov, Max von Sydow, F. Murray Abraham, Dolph Lundgren, Ben Kingsley and Franco Nero. Story wise it seems to pick up the mantle of the Roman-Christian Epics such as The Robe, Quo Vadis, Barabbas and Ben Hur - a sub-genre that really has been quiet since the sixties. It will be interesting to see if there are any reviews of this film after Christmas.