Mary, Mother of Jesus
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Actor: Christian Bale, David Threlfall, Melinda Kinnaman, Pernilla August, Simone BendixBrand: Lions Gate
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-03-18
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Lions Gate
Product features:
- DVD Details: Actors: Christian Bale, Pernilla August, Melinda Kinnaman, David Threlfall, Simone Bendix
- Directors: Kevin Connor
- Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC. Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1; Number of discs: 1; Studio: Lions Gate
- DVD Release Date: March 18, 2003; Run Time: 88 minutes
DVD Reviews of Mary, Mother of Jesus
DVD Review: Fervent yet flawed study of a human-divine relationship
Summary: 3 Stars
In 1999, it just so happened that two of the major networks aired versions of the Jesus story the same month. "Jesus," which I review elsewhere, was one; the other was "Mary, Mother of Jesus." Of the two, "Jesus" emerged as original and likeable, with MMOJ coming in a distant second.
MMOJ, bankrolled by the very Catholic Shriver Foundation, seeks to highlight the special relationship between Mary and Jesus. Yet it is a queer composite of a movie. On one hand, it seeks to humanize Mary. She is shown as a headstrong (though virtuous) teenage girl who stands up to the Romans and her hotheaded male townsmen. Uncharacteristically for the time period, she runs around without male escort or head covering. She asks no permission of her betrothed, Joseph, to travel to the Judaean hill country to visit her cousin Elizabeth. She is vocal about denouncing fellow male Jews who stone a woman to death for adultery.
On the other hand, the film could easily function as a brief for the defense of the idea of Mary as Co-Redemptrix. This Marian title is being pushed by conservative Catholics (including the late Pope John Paul II) and asks us to accept the idea that Mary was so intimately and necessarily associated with salvation wrought by Christ, a claim rejected by nearly all but the most conservative of Roman Catholics. To this end, we are shown Mary as the source of Jesus's parables; she tells the Good Samaritan as a bedtime story. When Christ is suffering on the cross and about to give in to despair, she bolsters his spirit--by reciting the Lord's Prayer--and helps him to endure until the end. She is graced with a non-biblical post-Resurrection appearance. She single-handedly rallies the downhearted disciples to continue her Son's mission.
The movie is problematic on many fronts. First, it is too short to accommodate the subject matter -- and commercial breaks. Criminals are no sooner crucified than their corpses are hauled down from their crosses. And there is the problem of the aging of Mary. Teenage Mary is played adequately (if uni-dimensionally) by Melinda Kinnaman. When we next see Mary a scant 12 years later, Kinnamon has been replaced by Pernilla August, whose easily looks thirty years than the acrtress she replaced. Though she is an actress of far greater range and subtlety, reserving Pernilla for the end of the film, hen Jesus as a grown man, would have flowed better. Architecturally, the film's depiction of Jerusalem, with odd pointed towers, is completely wrong. And other period films have done a far better job of accurately depicting Roman battle gear.
Theologically, Mary is given a role and influence that the gospels reserve for Jesus alone. Mary and Jesus decide together when it is time to start his mission. They are baptized together by John the Baptist, and Mary accompanies Jesus on much of his mission, rather than occasionally as indicated by Scripture. While this may enthrall the co-redemptrix supporters, it may baffle or even anger others. The movie's message too is devoid of theological import. Mary urges us to love as Jesus loved, something that could be said about any good person. His role as redeeming Son of God is muted, not unexpected in a mass marketed TV movie.
As a Sunday school teacher, the movie has limited utility, though there it has a few nice features. The annunciation scene, with its shimmering, mirage-like angelic messenger, is visually other-worldly and plausible. Elizabeth seems appropriately too old to be pregnant. And Joseph, played wonderfully by David Threlfall, is plausible as the older spouse of a younger woman. The human love story of Mary and Joseph is beautiful to watch. The real star of the film is the relationship between Jesus and his mother. Christian Bale (in a predecessor to his marvelous role in this year's "Batman Begins") plays Jesus as second fiddle to his mother. Though a scene in which he gives a sculpted toy pony to a retarded girl is touching.
"Mary, Mother of Jesus" often strays far from the gospels, but does so with a good heart. Catch the movie as a meditation on the relationship between Mary and Jesus, but supplement it with "Jesus" for a better drama and "Jesus of Nazareth" for scriptural accuracy.
Description of Mary, Mother of Jesus
Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 09/13/2005 Run time: 91 minutes Rating: NrBestsellers in DVD
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