Exodus: Gods and Kings, A Short Movie Review

How do you combine a beautiful ancient narrative in a way that markets itself well to American entertainment and American sensibilities?

Have a “believable” (read: naturalistic) setting, a hefty dose of Die Hard-like action sequences, and sprinkle throughout good-ol' Humanistic values.  This is hard to manage in an ancient story that is really about divine commissioning, cataclysmic divine judgments, and battle sequences where God really does all the fighting.  But somehow Exodus: Gods and Kings finds a way to sanitize the story well enough for American consumption.

As expected this movie has little to say about the ancient biblical story and more to say about the ideals and values of contemporary culture.  Moses is the hero; but he is a 21st century hero not an ancient one.  The ideals and values he fights for are more like those of a contemporary comic book hero, than anything resembling a noble figure within the Ancient Near East.  First, Moses is spiritually confused almost the whole movie.  Interestingly, this is actually seen as a strength in our culture.  When you have tons of gods and all this supernatural fluff, any respectable American hero will be skeptical.  And more importantly a person who is confident, unconfused, and unwavering in his version of spirituality and beliefs is just dogmatically narrow-minded... or so says the value-makers of our culture.  So if Moses is going to be any sort of noble hero for American audiences, he must be very spiritually confused. 

Second, Moses is definitely not confused about his moral stances.  The pure humanism that flows out of him surprised me.  Although it probably shouldn't have.  The final purpose of all moral efforts and moral values begins and ends with man.  And so we get a Moses who loves democracy, fights against forced labor, loves his wife “more than anything,”  and who ultimately wants (his) people to just be treated equally (like every Egyptian!).  Again, ironic that this is almost exactly inverse of the real Moses.  God was the real motivation behind everything Moses did.  Moses refused the riches of Egypt because... God.  Moses called (his) people to freedom because... God.  Moses even pleaded for mercy for his own people not because of anything intrinsic to their worth, but because God's reputation was at stake. 

I suppose there are other aspects to this film that would also disturb pious viewers.  But for some reason the humanism disturbed me the most.  And to those with an ear to these things, it is the exact same thing you get in Kingdom of Heaven and other Ridley Scott productions.

Language Adventures

I go down to a local dӧner stand to get some take-out.  The cook asks me if I’d like to stay and have some chai.  I say, “Sorry...  next time... my wife and I... come… have tea with you.”  He smiles graciously and says “Okay, sounds good.”  I say goodbye and walk back home.  Then I go back over the conversation in my head and realize I actually didn’t say —“and I.”  So I basically invited him to have tea with my wife...  I laugh about it.  But I’m embarrassed just the same, and in these moments [they happen a lot :) ] a lure toward reclusiveness pulls on me.

Believe it or not, speaking with the vocabulary of a toddler takes humility.  Especially for people (like me) who take a measure of pride in communicating well and in being articulate in how I present myself.  In these moments, I’m finding I have much less humility than I imagined.  It is disheartening and sobering.  Basic language lessons have quickly become pressing spiritual lessons.  And at this point surprisingly, growth in both is now very much connected.

The Streets I Feared To See, A Poem

By George MacDonald (1824-1905):

I said: “Let me walk in the field;”

             God said: “Nay, walk in the town;”

I said: “There are no flowers there;”

             He said, “No flowers, but a crown.”

I said: “But the sky is black,

There is nothing but noise and din;”

But He wept as He sent me back,

“There is more,” He said, “there is sin.”

I said: “But the air is thick,

And fogs are veiling the sun.”

He answered: “Yet souls are sick,

And souls in the dark undone.”

I said: “I shall miss the light,

And friends will miss me, they say,”

He answered me, “Choose tonight,

If I am to miss you, or they.”

I pleaded for time to be given;

He said: “Is it hard to decide?

It will not seem hard in heaven

To have followed the steps of your Guide.”

I cast one look at the fields,

Then set my face to the town;

He said: “My child, do you yield?

Will you leave the flowers for the crown?”

Then into His hand went mine,

And into my heart came He;

And I walk in a light Divine,

The streets I had feared to see.