Tuesday 2 October 2007

2 New Movies about the Boy Jesus


ChristianityToday reports that two new movies about Jesus' early years between 13-30 are now under way. Read the report below.
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Filming the Boy Jesus: Two new movies about Christ's early years are on the way—The Aquarian Gospel and Jesus: The Lost Years.

by Josh Hurst posted 10/01/07

Good News Holdings might have scrapped its plans to make a movie out of Anne Rice's Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, a fictional story about Jesus' childhood years. But that's not stopping others from making films with a similar theme.

Drew Heriot, director of the self-help documentary The Secret, has been tapped to direct The Aquarian Gospel, a movie that follows the life of Christ through his "missing years"—including ages 13 through 30. Meanwhile, Jesus: The Lost Years, a documentary based on the Paul Perry book Jesus in Egypt, comes to DVD on November 13.

Variety reports that the script for the former film is based on a pair of books: The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus Christ, by evangelical writer Levi Dowling, and The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ, by Russian anthropologist Nicholas Notovich. The film "chronicles Jesus' journeys from Israel through India, Tibet, Persia, Greece and Egypt as he encounters people of all creeds, classes and faiths."

Meanwhile, Jesus: The Lost Years, billing itself as "The Greatest Story NEVER Told," takes a speculative look at Christ's boyhood years in Egypt after his family fled Israel. Press materials say that "acclaimed" researcher John de Bry and filmmaker "traversed the sands of Egypt, following the Holy Family's actual route." This alleged route was allegedly "outlined by Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Christians and officially certified as authentic in 2000." (There's no mention who actually "authenticated" such a speculative, and possibly outright fictional, "Holy Family Trail," but mere conjecture never stopped anyone from writing a book or making a movie before.)

6 comments:

Alex Tang said...

hi kar yong,

I am not too comfortable with novelisation of Jesus' life especially in ares not recorded in the synoptic gospels. These lost years and childhood stories are pure speculations and will give false impressions of the human Jesus.

We must be aware of the power of media to influence our perceptions and worldviews.

SATheologies said...

Hi KY,

Last year, there was an announcement of a movie about the Resurrection due to be released this year's Easter. But it didn't happen.

Will see if these two baby-jesus make their way to the screen.

Hi Alex,

Yes, i agree with you. A simple browse through kinokuniya shelves will show that people have been trying to speculate lots of the early years of Jesus.

What's worst is that i found a book titled 'Jesus in India' by Maru Lee in the section on 'Christianity' in Buddhist's library.

Recently there is another buddhist who recommend Holger Kersten's Jesus lived in India to me.

Don't know why people (buddhists, mostly) likes to associate Jesus, the Judean, with India.

Kar Yong said...

Hi Alex and Sze Seng,

Yes, I share the same thought. Perhaps people are more excited in the obscure...this will give extra room for more speculation and perhaps also for someone to claim "authenticity" to his/her research?

After this - it will be the boy Paul...Paul's hidden years between Damascus and Antioch...and the obscure years between Acts 28 and 2 Timothy (if one takes 2 Timothy to be written by Paul). Any takers from the novelist or movie makers?

SATheologies said...

Hahahaha!

Well, the nearest would be Jerome M. O'Connor's 'Paul: His Story'.

Kar Yong said...

Hi Sze Seng,

Oh yes, now that you mentioned Jerome Murphy O'Connor, I forgot all about his latest book, Jesus and Paul: Parallel Lives, where he kind of "speculated" the similar experiences both Jesus and Paul went through in the childhood and early adult years.....I am supposed to write a review of the book.

SATheologies said...

I saw that book in a local bookshop, but haven't had the chance to read it.