Saturday, March 26, 2016

"Risen" Movie



Richard and I saw the movie "Risen".  We both thought it was worth seeing and found it very moving.   The actor who played Jesus is Cliff Curtis and he is a Maori from New Zealand.  Raised as a Catholic, his stock answer for which role he would most like to play was always the same : Jesus.  Since there is a certain "type" when casting this role, he never thought he would be considered and when he was offered the role, he thought it was a joke!  (He has played quite a few "bad guy" characters, so he was quite surprised to get this call and also since he is in his late 40's, he thought he might be considered too old for the role.)   As the filming began, Mr Curtis felt that he wanted to be on his own so that he could bring a certain truth to his portrayal, he spent a great deal of time in meditation on the set and didn't speak with his co-actors.  When the director suggested that he might want to interact with those who would play his disciples in the movie, he agreed to do so and he did this by an unusual act.  When the actors sat down for a lunch break, Mr. Curtis knelt down beside them, one by one, and began washing their feet.  When I read this, it made me want to see the movie even more!  And even though, the story itself  is from the viewpoint of a Roman soldier and not really a Biblical movie,, I still kept waiting and waiting to see Jesus.  ("We wish to see Jesus"...that is Biblical, you know!)  Okay, I hope to not spoil it for you, but the scene where the disciples are found in the upper room, that is worth the whole movie, in my opinion.  It's possible that I held my breath during that part, I thought it was amazing.

Remember when my Dad was in the hospital?  I rushed to get to his hospital after I got off work one day and when I walked into his room, and saw him sitting up on his bed, I looked down at his feet and they looked very dry to me.  What did I do? I immediately knelt down and took a lotion from my handbag and began rubbing it on his feet.  When I smelled the floral scent of the lotion, I was struck by the memory of Mary rubbing the nard, I think it was called on the feet of Jesus...  

Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.





"My Lord and my God"    Thomas
"I have seen the Lord!"   Mary Magdalene


Easter Blessings to you all.




Anybody remember my post about Wendy Bagwell and The Sunliters? My Aunt Jean, who was a gospel singer, sang backing vocals on the song "When The Wagon Was New".  I have this song on here as a tribute for her, she passed away yesterday.  May she rest in the Peace of the Lord.

39 comments:

  1. I haven't seen the movie,Kay, but you have got me wanting to.
    Sorry for the lose of your aunt.
    Have a blessed Easter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Even if you wait to see it on TV, watch out for it.
      Happy Easter to you.

      Delete
  2. My sympathies to you on the loss of your Aunt. I'm sending special prayers and thoughts your way and hope your Easter is a blessed one.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a beautiful and moving post you've written.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Condolences for the loss of your aunt. It is never pleasant to lose a loved one but at the time of a holiday it is especially painful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, and I read your latest post and I see why you wrote your comment above. I hope you always write your blog, you write beautifully. x

      Delete
  5. I'm so sorry for your loss, Kay. Have a peaceful, beautiful Easter.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Please accept my condolences for the loss of your aunt. May you have a blessed and beautiful Easter!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And the same to you in lovely Louisiana! xx

      Delete
  7. I'm sorry to read of the loss of your aunt. Thanks for posting your review of this movie. My friend and I been thinking we might want to see it. I like your story of rubbing your dad's feet. So sweet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have heard others who didn't like the movie as much as I did but then, one has to remember, it is a FILM after all, and it cannot be exactly the way we might like it!

      Delete
  8. I'm sorry for the loss of your aunt, Kay. A peaceful and lovely Easter to you and your loved ones. I love that you did that for your dad. I would do the same...if only my dad could still be here!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, I am very grateful to have him. And even though I have never met you, I am CERTAIN that you would have done the same! Happy Easter, Martha. xx

      Delete
  9. May Jesus enfold you and your family with his cross and rising in the loss of your aunt. I saw the movie and thought it was worth seeing. It took the Bible seriously and the Jesus was unique and enlightening. The scene at the exact moment of the ascension was kind of funny with its "explosion effect". But that's OK.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much Dennis for your beautiful words, they are like a blessing to me!
      I am glad you liked the film too. I also thought the ascension was strangely filmed. I read in one of the reviews that there needed to be more focus, more direction... why didn't they call me? You know I would have helped them! :-)
      I agree with the Jesus being unique and enlightening, I like how he told the Roman soldier exactly what he was thinking and he did it in such a loving way, just like God would do!

      Delete
  10. I really want to see that movie and I'm glad you gave a review of it! You did a lovely act of service for your Dad. I don't think we know how much little things like that mean to others. So sorry for the loss of your Aunt. Sweet tribute for her. Hope your Easter is lovely and special.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh! I almost feel as if I need to say "sorry" for my little review of such an important subject! If you read the comment above by Dennis Evans, he is a preacher and I am glad that he liked it too!
      Happy Easter!

      Delete
  11. Sorry to hear your aunt Jean has died, Kay. I have an aunt Jean in Yorkshire, and hope she'll be around for many more years to come.
    It was kind of you to put lotion on your Dad's feet, and I am sure he appreciated it very much!
    I've never quite understood why Mary Magdalene used her hair to wipe Jesus' feet and not simply a piece of cloth. Hair is not really a good material to wipe anything, I guess, but maybe it was to make the gesture more intimate (in a non-sexual way).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aunt Jean was a very funny, feisty lady. She smoked for many years and developed lung cancer, I hate that disease.
      I didn't mention it in my post, Meike, but since you bring it up...when I bent down to rub the lotion, my hair brushed against his feet. When I then noticed the fragrance in the room, I was bit overcome by the emotion, of the love I felt for my Dad, and combining that with the knowledge of this verse from the Bible, of Mary Magdalene and her love for the Lord.

      Delete
  12. I would love to see this movie too, having heard a bit about it. Now I am even more interested. So sorry about your Aunt's passing - she is singing with the angels this Easter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Singing with the angels, that is such a lovely thought, thank you, Patricia.
      Happy Easter. xx

      Delete
  13. Hello,

    Excellent review of the movie RISEN.

    I am sorry to read about the sad demise of your aunt. Please accept my heartfelt condolences. May her soul rest in peace.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Joseph,
      Thank you very much for your kind words. Happy Easter to you.

      Delete
  14. My condolences for the loss of your loved Aunt, Kay. Cherish all your good and happy memories.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I saw my sister today and we shared some happy memories of our Aunt Jean. "Recall a happy memory as often as you like, you can never wear it out!"

      Delete
  15. Risen sounds like an interesting movie. Cliff Curtis probably looks closer to how Jesus would have looked than most people portraying him. It's very unlikely that Jesus was completely white. It was quite nice of you to wash your dads feet like that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I remember one of the magazines a few years back did a drawing of how they think Jesus would have looked and on someone's blog, they had that drawing with the photo of Mr. Curtis and they looked very similar!
      I just wanted to make my Dad more comfortable. That was a tough time for him, those hospital stays are not easy!

      Delete
  16. So sorry to hear about your aunt. My grandfather passed away on Good Friday when I was in high school and I think about that every Easter, since his funeral ended up being on Easter Sunday.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Emma Springfield in her comment above wrote very movingly of losing loved ones at the holidays (in her recent post on her blog.)

      Delete
  17. I'm sorry for your loss, Kay. (Though Good Friday seems like a good time to go home to heaven!)

    Hope you had a blessed Easter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Sue. And blessings to you also, my friend. x

      Delete
  18. Glad you enjoyed "Risen." Have you heard of this new movie coming out later this year? It's called "Last Days in the Desert" and stars Ewan McGregor. It covers Christ's 40 days and nights wandering in the desert being tempted by the devil. Interestingly, the devil is played by Ewan McGregor too. It looks pretty good -- here's the trailer:

    https://youtu.be/RDfySDiGeh8

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I have heard of this one and I think I would like to see it too. "The angels attended to his needs". I always think of that line from the Bible, about Jesus and his 40 days in the desert.
      I haven't seen the trailer yet, so thank you for telling me!

      Delete
    2. Oh Debra, I watched the trailer. Wow, it looks amazing...I hope to see it.

      Delete