Risen: A Review

Do you long for a movie about Jesus that sticks tightly to the words of the Gospels and leaves no room for “what ifs”? If so, then Risen is not for you. Set against the backdrop of Judea, 33 A.D., this film follows events in the life of Roman Tribune Clavius, as portrayed by Joseph Fiennes, as he investigates the death of Yeshua (whose translated name is Jesus), portrayed by Clive Curtis.
The narrative begins with Clavius resting from travel in a desert inn, and concludes there, as well, the Roman soldier having recounted the events of the film to the spellbound innkeeper. His story arc begins as a faithful, effective and ambitious warrior quelling Jewish rebellion and serving Pilate, the Prefect. “Tribune, Pilate summons you,” are words heard repeatedly throughout the story.
Charged with finding the body of a troublemaker Jew whom some have proclaimed the Hebrew's Messiah, Clavius interviews and interrogates witnesses, and investigates the evidence to see what has happened to the corpse of a man whose death he himself witnessed. Not so much CSI: Jerusalem as some have proclaimed it, the film definitely hints at a man determined to find answers in the most logical way possible.
Some of the dialogue seems a bit stilted (Clavius replies to a messenger summoning him to Pilate, “I'm yet sticky with filth”), while some is lightly humorous (Clavius asks a blind woman why she is proclaiming Yeshua to be alive, since “You obviously didn't see him”).
Camera shots are both tightly compact, as in scenes of soldiers engaged in battle or pursuit, and widely panoramic, as with scenes of the disciples walking in the desert and witnessing Yeshua's ascension. The movie's score is conservative, going mostly unnoticed in the background, until it rises in volume and intensity to set up a pulse-racing moment, or to accentuate a time of awe and worship. Thunder rumbling in the background was so effective that it seemed to be coming from outside the theater, until its importance in the scene became evident.
The movie contained no language that could be considered offensive, and violence was mostly off screen. The violence that is seen is not graphically portrayed like other movies regarding Roman warfare or crucifixion (i.e.,The Passion of the Christ), but several corpses are seen in various states of decomposition.
The theology of the movie is both obvious – Yeshua is the risen Son of God and the Savior of all mankind – and subtle – “I don't know; I don't have the answers”. Lucius, Clavius' aide, says to him during Christ's crucifixion, “Poseidon's angry”, to which Clavius replies, “Some God is”.
The Tribune's desire is, in part, to find peace, and this film portrays a “what if” account of a dedicated Roman soldier who struggles to make sense of the evidence he uncovers in relation to the world he has always known. Is peace what it will bring him?
Risen presents a portion of the story of Jesus from the biblical Gospels from the viewpoint of a non-Christian, non-Jewish man. He witnesses the faith of others, and must make choices himself. The movie's tagline reads, “Witness the manhunt that changed the course of human history”. The film does not demand the viewer choose a side, but presents the choices of historical believers and those of a fictional unbeliever as he experiences much of the same events.
I think the film accomplishes its goal of giving both Christians and non-Christians things to think about, and does so without feeling cheesy, self-serving, or overreaching. 

(Previously published in The Natchitoches Times)