The Apocalypse
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Actor: Benjamin Sadler, Christian Kohlund, Erol Sander, Richard Harris, Vittoria BelvedereBrand: Gaiam
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 96 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-04-27
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Gaiam
DVD Reviews of The Apocalypse
DVD Review: So much wasted potential
Summary: 2 Stars
I have always been fascinated by the story of St. John, Jesus' beloved disciple who managed to outlive his contemporaries only to suffer exile on the island of Patmos, so I was understandably thrilled to discover that there was a movie made about the last years of his life. Unfortunately, this film doesn't do justice to this pillar of the church and to the legends that have proliferated about him throughout the centuries.
John the Apostle, "the disciple whom Jesus loved," was made guardian of Mary, the mother of Christ. After she died, he allegedly preached in Parthia and areas of Asia Minor, settling with St. Timothy in Ephesus after the deaths of Peter and Paul. Here is where the story gets interesting. When he was an elderly man, about 89 or 90 years old and peacefully living out the end of his life in Ephesus, John was summoned to Rome to stand trial before the emperor Domitian, a violent sociopath who wanted nothing more than to eliminate the followers of Christianity. According to legend, Domitian had John beaten, tortured, and thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil from which he escaped unscathed. Domitian also ordered John to drink poison, which he did happily, thereby fulfilling Christ's prophecy that he also would drink of Christ's cup. Again John remained unharmed. Fearing that John was a sorcerer, Domitian banished him to the island of Patmos where he wrote the Book of Revelation. After Domitian's death he returned to Ephesus, raised a friend from the dead, wrote his Gospel, and died around the year 100.
Fascinating stuff, right? It has everything -- adventure, intrigue, divine intervention, unshakable faith, human suffering and triumph. I didn't think it was possible to screw up a movie about St. John, but The Apocalypse proved me wrong.
The movie opens with John already exiled on Patmos. No good reason is given for his being there except that he's hiding from Domitian, who wants to believe that John is dead and vows to kill him if he is not. Patmos is apparently some kind of jail or slave camp where criminals and outlaws are sent to dig mines and copy documents or something. Everyone's looking for John but no one can find him in spite of the fact that he doesn't seem to be hiding. Despite the invasive presence of Roman soldiers (who even build traps to keep people from escaping), a woman from Ephesus manages to walk on and off the island to pick up letters from John as if she's walking in and out of her own house. Then we've got some average plot diversions -- an anti-Christian Roman spy who discovers that his dead parents were really Christians, a bunch of murdered Christian refugees (whom we don't care about due to the lack of character development), a romantic subplot, an escape plot.
In the midst of this are John's drawn out visions of how the world is going to end. They're downright hokey. While one has to give the director credit for trying to visually depict John's opaque and sometimes disturbing prophesies, the special effects were poorly done. They looked as if they were ripped right out of The Neverending Story. The attempt to instill emotion, sincerity, and a sense of urgency into John's visions falls short, and the movie employs a fundamentalist reading of the Book of Revelation typical of the views espoused by the 700 Club and the likes of John Hagee.
The acting is good -- if your idea of good acting is that of a high school play. Someone should tell the guy who plays Domitian that screaming every other line does not a Shakespearean actor make. With the exception of Richard Harris, the other actors cry on cue, shout on cue, and look like they're trying too hard to be sincere. When Richard Harris is given a chance to act, he does so with a sweet gentleness that is never feeble or condescending, and he gives us some arresting moments. When an earnest disciple asks him to recount the story of Jesus' death, he cries and speaks as if he's tearing the words from the depths of his memory -- interesting considering that he must have told the story hundreds of times. During another moment, he has a small crisis of faith and wonders why Jesus has left his only living apostle to suffer in such backwater. However, these moments are cut short for more apocalyptic corniness. That's the central problem of The Apocalypse: the movie is concerned with everything except its most human thread: the faith and trials of John.
For the life of me, I can't understand why the director and writer wouldn't want to explore some of the captivating legends about John. The only reason I can come up with is that these legends seem far-fetched and incredible, and that depicting them might distract from John's visions of the end times. Well, I can't think of anything more far-fetched or distracting than John's having a vision of September 11th, but I guess that's just me.
So, here's to hoping that a better filmmaker sees the potential for greatness in the story of John the Apostle. With the resurgence of Christianity and the recent influx of historical and religious movies, it's surprising that a mainstream director hasn't picked up on the appeal of the legends of this incredible man.
Description of The Apocalypse
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