Double Movie Review: King of Kings and Light of the World

If I had to choose five of my most favorite movies, or the movies that have inspired me the most and never lost their charm over the years, I would readily go for: The Prince of Egypt, The Last Unicorn, Pinocchio, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 

I've always considered The Prince of Egypt my all-time favorite non-Disney movie. Even if it's not totally accurate, I feel it does the story of Moses the most justice; I'll go far enough to deem it superior to The Ten Commandments, although I do appreciate that movie well enough on its own. In The Prince of Egypt, the character development is incredible, Rameses is one of the main reasons why I love tragic villains so much, the music continues to give me pleasant chills (especially "Deliver Us," "All I Ever Wanted," and "The Plagues"), and the animation is nothing short of dazzling. What's even better, plenty of non-religious people sing the movie's praises, all the way to this day, so that's how you know those guys did something right. 

I used to say I would pay big money to see the story of Jesus Christ portrayed in a similar fashion. Well, I got my wish this last Christmas, courtesy of good old Santa Claus. I was lucky enough to get two such movies that happened to come out in the same year: The King of Kings and Light of the World. I had a fine time deciding which of the two we should watch first. My older sister helped me settle on The King of Kings on Christmas Day, and then we watched Light of the World on New Year's Eve. 

So we'll start with The King of Kings, which everyone would surely know about by now, given how it broke the record previously held by The Prince of Egypt and it's garnered plenty of rave reviews. 

It's basically Charles Dickens narrating the story of Jesus Christ to his young son, Walter, because there was apparently such a story the real-life Dickens told exclusively to his children and he didn't want it publicized until well after his death. So that would explain it; both my mom and I were a bit puzzled at first about the whole Charles Dickens thing. 

For the most part, I was fine with this whole "telling a story to a child" thing, although it got a bit jarring at first, switching back and forth so much between Victorian England and ancient Israel. Some of the dialogue sort of clashed, too, a little too much modern vernacular that I couldn't really hear coming out of such characters' mouths. 

Walter is also quite adorable for the most part, if somewhat of a handful (you'll find yourself sympathizing very quickly with his father) and his character development is fairly believable. But you can't help wondering now and then how much of a story like this is suitable for a child at that age, because they really don't shy away from the grim parts such as the Crucifixion. There's a particularly poignant scene in which Walter tries to bring Jesus a bowl of water, but he trips and falls and the water ends up wasted. Then there's another scene where Walter, like Peter, finds himself sinking beneath the cold, dark waves and he cries out to Jesus to save him. Nothing too intense but not much sugar to sprinkle, either. And Walter's only, what, five or six years old? That's really pushing the boundaries of what children can handle if you ask me. 

But on the whole, I most definitely enjoyed The King of Kings. Probably my one true complaint is the pacing; some parts felt a bit too rushed and the side characters didn't get as much focus as I would have liked. I, for one, would have loved to see more of the Twelve Apostles, Peter and Judas if no one else, because they both play such a substantial role in the story of Jesus and yet they just sort of disappear after the big betrayal. With that being said, while I would have liked to see Jesus Himself fleshed out a little more, they made great use of what they did show us. Oscar Isaac did a wonderful job at playing Jesus as a gentle yet commanding person, someone who fully expects to be obeyed but lets you decide whether or not you'll obey. 

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate The King of Kings 8 and a half. 

Now onto Light of the World, and I'll admit I was more excited about this one because of the kind of animation we don't get anymore. I ended up enjoying it even more, too. 

This one revolves around the Apostle John, who's depicted as a surprisingly young boy, not much older than 12 or 13. Granted, you were considered "grown up" at that age back then; girls could get married as soon as they hit puberty. Even so, John undergoes fantastic character development just like Moses in The Prince of Egypt, although I must wonder why he doesn't end up a little taller with a slightly deeper voice, given that Jesus's earthly ministry lasted three years. You would think John had followed Jesus only for a few weeks or a month or two at most. 

But I quite liked John's character on the whole. He starts out as a bright, somewhat clumsy boy with a great deal to learn and a sincere desire to help. His heart is almost always in the right place and Jesus simply helps him to become more thoughtful and graceful. Iron out those rough spots, if you will. I could see a lot of Aladdin in him, so if you like the movie Aladdin, you should like this as well. There's a scene where John is fleeing a small group of Roman guards across a bunch of flat rooftops and it plays out almost exactly like Aladdin fleeing the Arabian guards.

The other Apostles also get a little more of the spotlight, but I would have liked to see them further fleshed out. For instance, when Matthew is recruited, John doesn't like him at first because he's a publican, a "traitor Jew" who holds a cushy job with the Romans and he goes far enough to threaten John's own family if they can't pay their (unfairly increased) taxes by the appointed time. Yet as soon as Jesus calls Matthew to follow Him, Matthew drops everything and follows and that's that. I think more interaction between Matthew and John would have been nice. 

Just like The King of Kings, my one solid critique of Light of the World is the pacing. For both movies, I would say it's like going on a car ride through a very beautiful landscape with a slightly inexperienced driver. The driver goes too fast in some parts and applies the brakes a bit too hard in others, but the scenery is ultimately worth it. 

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate Light of the World 9 and a half.

Overall, I consider both movies worth owning and watching on several occasions, we could certainly use more Bible stories on such a grand scale, I'm quite inclined to give The Chosen a try one of these days, and it looks like The Prince of Egypt just might have a fair bit of competition as my all-time favorite non-Disney movie. 

The 12 Days of Christmas of 2023 - Day 11

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: eleven pipers piping!
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree!

 

The eleven pipers stand for the eleven faithful disciples. That is, all of Christ's disciples except Judas.

 

Judas is quite a complicated character, and a lot of people have mixed feelings about him. On one hand, he helped make the Savior's universal sacrifice possible, but on the other hand, an innocent man suffered unspeakable torture and the worst death imaginable because of him. After everything Jesus went through, from the Garden all the way to the Cross, death could only be a blessed release.

 

There was no way Jesus's enemies could have gotten their hands on Him to begin with without a little help, and there is something to be said about someone who does something wrong when they know it's wrong. Whether Judas truly meant to betray his Master and simply got cold feet at the last minute, or the situation turned out a whole lot worse than he initially expected, is irrelevant.

 

When all is said and done, the man really was a traitor. He threw all of the Savior's teachings away and regretted his actions a little too late, which I feel makes his story that much more heart-wrenching.

 

As for the remaining eleven Apostles, they not only remained faithful but went on to become far greater men than they were before or could have ever imagined. They're all living proof that ordinary men (and women) can become truly extraordinary in God's hands if they let Him.

 

My fantasy version:

 

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: eleven centaurs prancing!
Ten flimsy fairies,
Nine mystic mermaids,
Eight hearty hobbits,
Seven dwarves a-mining,
Six flying horses,
Five magic rings,
Four mountain trolls,
Three phoenixes,
Two forest fauns,
And a unicorn as white as the snow!

 

Like fauns, centaurs are known for their barbarism and unbridled chaos, and wine has always had a tendency to bring out the worst in them. Then again, centaurs are every bit as capable of kindness, goodness, and wisdom. They're especially passionate about books and astrology, and they make lifelong friends, too.

 

The most famous centaur of all is the Chiron, a wise and kind centaur who taught many great heroes in their youth, such as Achilles, Actaeon, and Jason.

 

I've personally developed a soft spot for the centaur Oreius from The Chronicles of Narnia.

 

Big Bible Questions: Did Ananias and Sapphira Deserve to Die?

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly.

We study the Bible along with the Book of Mormon; you could say they go hand in hand with each other. Claiming only one book as "the right book" makes about as much sense as saying there's only one dependable book on the subject of math, chemistry, or astrology. While the Bible depicts what took place in the Holy Land, the Book of Mormon focuses on what took place on the other side of the globe at about the same time, since it's a pretty well known fact that God has many children, and therefore a single book (or a single nation) can only give you so much information.

For that matter, I doubt we could write enough books for every single story and every single person that has ever lived or will ever live in this world. That's also excluding the fact that God's not the God of just one planet; even if you deem yourself a purely practical, logical person, surely you can agree that we wouldn't have so many worlds drifting through our universe only to have life exist on a single one.

Anyway, while we consider the Bible Holy Scripture along with the rest, it's important to note the line, "as far as it is translated correctly." Since the Bible spans so many years and has passed through so many hands, it's safe to say there have been a great many errors in its conversion to the "current" language, both intentional and non-intentional.

On one hand, some people knew everybody believed what the Bible said, without question. You could face social disgrace, serious legal consequences, and even death for merely implying the Bible wasn't 100% accurate. So certain writers took advantage of "telling" the Bible their own way; it was their little twisted idea of power.

On the other hand, there were some honest mistakes while converting the sacred writings from one language to another. As anyone can tell you, even the simplest foreign language takes years to learn, and in a way, you never stop learning, and so you're bound to make a mistake here and there. And as any writer can tell you, one small difference in a certain word or phrase can make a world of difference.

This alone serves as proof of Joseph Smith's surprising accuracy in his translation of the Book of Mormon. Even to this day, a few people assume Joseph Smith just made the whole book up on his own. But if those folks did their research properly, they would know almost right away that Joseph Smith was a very simple farm boy, with nothing greater than a junior high education. He couldn't even spell all that well, so how could he possibly "invent" such a complex and fascinating story, let alone in such a short time?

After all, J.R.R. Tolkien was a distinguished Oxford professor, always dabbling in foreign languages, a true master of speech and writing...and his books took no less than 15 years to complete, and he must have gone through countless drafts until he was satisfied. Even C.S. Lewis, while his books were much shorter and simpler, took several years to finish them. If there's one thing I've learned from my college writing courses and my own personal projects, it's that even the world's most talented, most creative writer takes time and work just to think up something decent.

Therefore, as C.S. Lewis would deduce it, the only conclusion we can come to is that Joseph Smith translated a legitimate ancient record with God's help, since the Book of Mormon was not only accurate on paper, but he even made some necessary corrections to the Bible itself.

 

So, today, I will be asking one of those "Big Bible Questions," questions about certain aspects of the Bible that have got a lot of people baffled, myself included. 

Today, we will focus on the story of Ananias and his wife Sapphira, which can be found in chapter 5 of the Book of Acts. While they are relatively minor figures, they are remembered as the couple who lied to the Lord, and thus the Apostle Peter, supposedly, cursed them both to death.

While we can all agree that lying to the Lord isn't good, that conspiring with your spouse isn't good, the question is: did Ananias and Sapphira deserve to die? 

As it is with all sins, what starts out small and insignificant can all too quickly escalate into something huge and dreadful. And you don't have to always commit heinous acts against the Lord to offend Him or jeopardize your own soul. Sometimes it's the cheater who's in more danger of God's justice than the thief, the rapist, or the adulterer. A person may not harm you physically, but they're not above lying to you, and so you still have to watch out for them.

What makes Ananias and Sapphira's act so disgraceful is they were essentially cheating the Church, and they just happened to be Church members themselves. They thought, in essence, they could serve two masters: God and Satan.

They could pay a handsome tithe to the Lord while not quite paying Him in full.

They could give generously to the poor while still keeping a good part of their pockets lined.

They could tell three quarters of the truth while their fingers stayed crossed behind their backs.

They could have the best of both worlds.

They could have their cake and eat it, too.

Unfortunately for them, that's not how it works...not in the long term.

God sees everything, and confessing our sins to Him is more of a matter of our willingness to come clean than about Him needing to know the facts. The parent already knows what the child has done, but does the child have the maturity to admit the deed?

Even as adults, we try to take "the easy way out" when we get caught, when it's really so much easier just to confess and get it over with. I, for one, find it's easier to stick to the facts, and thus I'm saved from having to keep track of a crazy, headache-inducing story. To me, lying is just way more trouble than it's worth. There's enough piled onto my plate as it is.

Unfortunately, many people don't see it that way, and it's easy enough to see how much of a stumbling block pride becomes. Even when a person does repent, that repentance may stem more from fear of punishment than genuine remorse.

And when all is said and done, nothing we have truly belongs to us. Everything belongs to the Lord; He's just kind enough to share with us, since wealth is meant to be shared.

So Ananias and Sapphira were trying to hold onto something that wasn't theirs in the first place, which basically made them thieves. And as it is with every thief, their "luck" could only last so long, and sure enough, that luck runs out soon enough.

But still, we must ask: was something like this worth a penalty as severe as death?

After all, even to this day, inside and outside the Church, plenty of people lie, cheat, and put dirty plans together, and they're still alive and well.

Why doesn't God strike them down, too?

Well, I can't very well speak for God Himself. Ultimately, this is something only He can judge.

However, I believe it's worth noting that Ananias and Sapphira were both members of the Church, so they had to have known better, and they did what they did anyway. A person who does something wrong in ignorance is quite a far cry from a person who does something wrong when they know it's wrong. I remember listening to a dramatized New Testament tape from my dad's collection, and one line of dialogue that stands out to me is: "When a blind man falls, all you know is he's a blind man. But when a seeing man falls on smooth ground in plain daylight, then you know he chose not to see, and cares not for seeing, and deserves to fall."

Perhaps this couple died out of sheer shock; it's possible neither of them were in the best health (in those days, you were lucky if you lived to see 40) and so they suffered some kind of heart attack or stroke on the spot. It's even possible they died by their own hands; Judas Iscariot, whom we all recall as the traitorous Apostle who sold Jesus Christ out to His enemies for thirty meager pieces of silver, was quick to commit suicide when the magnitude of his crime hit him.

Even if God did mean for them to die, perhaps He did this to prove to His Church that crime doesn't pay, least of all in that place. Depending on how well Ananias and Sapphira were known and how much of an influence they had, at least someone was bound to notice them and decide to follow their example. "If they can get away with it, so can I!"

And if there's one thing we can take away from both the Bible and the Book of Mormon, along with modern history, it's that one person, however small, can still have a significant influence, for good or bad.

So maybe God sought to nip this problem in the bud before it got too out of hand. At that time, the Church was still in the early stages, with people still reeling from Jesus's execution, the Apostles still finding their feet, and the number of enemies rising along with the number of followers. The foundation was still somewhat rickety, and people like Ananias and his wife posed a serious threat to that foundation.

It's also possible that this was God's act of mercy toward them as well as the Church.

The Great Flood in the days of Noah, as terrible as it was, proved to be beneficial because the people were only heading downhill, and so the only thing God could do for them was save them from getting any worse. It took at least a century to put the entire ark together, so no one can accuse God of not giving the people a fair chance. Only when they proved they were a lost cause was God finally obliged to step in and take the necessary action.

Moreover, the Apostasy came about not because of the persecution and deaths of the Apostles and the Saints, but because the surviving Saints twisted God's word to suit their own standards, and the Restoration came about because Joseph Smith had enough faith and confidence to approach God on his own. When all is said and done, God has always been there and has always been loving and merciful; we are the ones who turn our backs on him and refuse to listen.

If He always intervened every time we made a mistake, that goes against His entire principle of free agency. Anyone can do anything they're forced to do; it's what people do of their own accord that determines their true worthiness, and it would appear that God makes exceptions for "extreme cases," like Noah's people, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, Gehazi, Laman and Lemuel, King Noah, Alma the Younger, the city of Ammonihah, King Herod, Saul of Tarsus...and Ananias and Sapphira.

However you interpret this story, however "extreme" Ananias and Sapphira's case might have been, how well you believe the punishment fits the crime, the fact remains that God should not and will not be mocked.

Even if you're not struck down where you stand, you won't be able to elude divine justice forever.

Just like with Pinocchio and Stromboli, you may think you're living the good life now...but as soon as the enemy's got you where he wants you, the show (and fun) is over. Your so-called "friend" becomes your captor, and only the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ can set you free.

(Pinocchio screenshots courtesy of Animation Screencaps)