Noah (2014)
The forbidden fruit always taste sweeter, they say. This film is banned in many Muslim countries as it is not acceptable for a human being to portray a prophet.
From a production viewpoint, I think the film is of high quality with complex computerised graphic imaging. The main character, i.e. Noah, is made to appear very human and complexed. Even prophets do not know why they were sent to Earth for and which is the best path that they should take to be the correct path. There is no direct guide but decisions have to be made on hunches and signs which they would like to think as a nod from the Creator.
I remember hearing about Noah during my days in Sunday School. Of course it was very simplistic and was not layered or convoluted. Noah had a dream, God told him to build an Ark through a dream, get all the animals, people around him laughed at him, it rained 40 days and 40 nights and the bad people perished. Then we would all break into a song... "The wise built his house upon the rock...."
In this one, it is complicated. After being banished from the Garden of Eden, man leads a brutal life on Earth. It starts with the mauling of sons of Adam, Cain and Abel. Cain's lineage squandered God's creations, raped Earth of its beauty and wealth and changed it a place not fit for living. The other son of Adam, Seth, and his descendants were more God fearing and the countering force of Man's evil. Noah was of Seth's descendant.
He was living in a time of turmoil. Resources were scarce, all plundered by Man. Land was barren and food was so limited that they had to resort to cannibalism. Noah and his people were vegetarian.
Noah, after witnessing the murder of his father by Tubal-Cain, the bloodline of Cain, grows up to have a family of his own with 3 sons and an adopted daughter.
A recurring dream of him submerged in water and a springing of flower suggests to Noah (Russell Crowe) that it was a sign of God that he had to do something. A visit to his grandfather (Methuselah acted by Anthony Hopkins) in the caves, who gives him a seed from Eden, which springs water from Earth and sprouts a forest in a seemingly barren land.
The Watches, who are fallen angels, were cursed together with Man after their original sin, appear as mobile stone structures with multiple appendages. The Watches are basically frustrated with Man for destroying God's creations and were considered as not trustworthy. Seeing, the qualities of Adam in Noah, the Watches decide to help Noah to build the Ark.
Like clock work, all animals saunter in, beast, creepy crawlies and bugs, all in pairs.
The dilemma on board is the middle son, Ham. Since, the elder brother, Shem has paired up with Ila, (Ema Watson), Ham feels that he will be left without a partner after the floods recedes. The youngest son, Jaspeth is too young to worry about these things. Ham goes out to pick out a girl from the village but she had to be left behind as the rains started pouring in. Ham cannot forgive his father for that.
Ila had been diagnosed to be barren due to her injuries in childhood. Hence, Noah thinks that that is God's plan - after his family is dead and gone, the Earth is to be inhabited by no man. He thought God's decision to make Man in his image was a mistake and the floods was to give fresh new start.
Unknown to Noah, his wife, Naameh, approaches Methusalleh, the mystic grandfather, to use his powers to cure Ila of her infertility and it worked. Unknown to Noah too was the fact that an injured Tubal-Cain managed to make it on board the Ark. The disgruntled Ham nurses Tubal-Cain to health and plots with him to kill Noah.
Meanwhile, Ila gets pregnant to a furious Noah. He feels that his wife is interfering with God's plan and vows to kill the offspring if it turns out to a female child. Tension on the Ark is all time high. The animals on board are all in slumber land thanks to incense filled hypnotic fumes.
At the climax, a duel occurs between Noah and Tubal-Cain but Ham decides to stab Tubal-Cain at the right moment. Ila deliver a pair of twins - both girls. In a dramatic attempt to kill his granddaughters, Noah succumbs to love. Rain stops and sun comes out.
In the next scene, Noah is living as a recluse drinking himself crazy. He is unwanted by his family for his wish to kill his grandchildren. He himself is disappointed for what he thinks as failing to carry out God's duty. He is also puzzled by the silence of God. After Ila made peace with him, saying maybe God actually wanted him to do all the things that he did because that is the plan after all. The family reunites except for Ham who moves away.
It seems that the story of Noah is patchy in the scriptures and the screenwriters decide to use their artistic licence to fill in the gap and paint a very humanistic Noah who underwent a stressful time deciding on the things he had to do. The scriptures do mention that Noah was indeed in an intoxicated condition and naked and his sons had to cover him up. There is hearsay of what actually happened here and how Ham was sent off with a curse. His descendants became slaves and coloured people.
Now, even that is disputed. The fact that only white actors appear in this film is a bone of contention for some.
Overall, an intense movie with the message that life decisions are difficult to make. One does not really knows whether he is making the right. Only time will tell.
The forbidden fruit always taste sweeter, they say. This film is banned in many Muslim countries as it is not acceptable for a human being to portray a prophet.From a production viewpoint, I think the film is of high quality with complex computerised graphic imaging. The main character, i.e. Noah, is made to appear very human and complexed. Even prophets do not know why they were sent to Earth for and which is the best path that they should take to be the correct path. There is no direct guide but decisions have to be made on hunches and signs which they would like to think as a nod from the Creator.
I remember hearing about Noah during my days in Sunday School. Of course it was very simplistic and was not layered or convoluted. Noah had a dream, God told him to build an Ark through a dream, get all the animals, people around him laughed at him, it rained 40 days and 40 nights and the bad people perished. Then we would all break into a song... "The wise built his house upon the rock...."
In this one, it is complicated. After being banished from the Garden of Eden, man leads a brutal life on Earth. It starts with the mauling of sons of Adam, Cain and Abel. Cain's lineage squandered God's creations, raped Earth of its beauty and wealth and changed it a place not fit for living. The other son of Adam, Seth, and his descendants were more God fearing and the countering force of Man's evil. Noah was of Seth's descendant.
He was living in a time of turmoil. Resources were scarce, all plundered by Man. Land was barren and food was so limited that they had to resort to cannibalism. Noah and his people were vegetarian.
Noah, after witnessing the murder of his father by Tubal-Cain, the bloodline of Cain, grows up to have a family of his own with 3 sons and an adopted daughter.
A recurring dream of him submerged in water and a springing of flower suggests to Noah (Russell Crowe) that it was a sign of God that he had to do something. A visit to his grandfather (Methuselah acted by Anthony Hopkins) in the caves, who gives him a seed from Eden, which springs water from Earth and sprouts a forest in a seemingly barren land.
The Watches, who are fallen angels, were cursed together with Man after their original sin, appear as mobile stone structures with multiple appendages. The Watches are basically frustrated with Man for destroying God's creations and were considered as not trustworthy. Seeing, the qualities of Adam in Noah, the Watches decide to help Noah to build the Ark.
Like clock work, all animals saunter in, beast, creepy crawlies and bugs, all in pairs.
The dilemma on board is the middle son, Ham. Since, the elder brother, Shem has paired up with Ila, (Ema Watson), Ham feels that he will be left without a partner after the floods recedes. The youngest son, Jaspeth is too young to worry about these things. Ham goes out to pick out a girl from the village but she had to be left behind as the rains started pouring in. Ham cannot forgive his father for that.
Ila had been diagnosed to be barren due to her injuries in childhood. Hence, Noah thinks that that is God's plan - after his family is dead and gone, the Earth is to be inhabited by no man. He thought God's decision to make Man in his image was a mistake and the floods was to give fresh new start.
Unknown to Noah, his wife, Naameh, approaches Methusalleh, the mystic grandfather, to use his powers to cure Ila of her infertility and it worked. Unknown to Noah too was the fact that an injured Tubal-Cain managed to make it on board the Ark. The disgruntled Ham nurses Tubal-Cain to health and plots with him to kill Noah.Meanwhile, Ila gets pregnant to a furious Noah. He feels that his wife is interfering with God's plan and vows to kill the offspring if it turns out to a female child. Tension on the Ark is all time high. The animals on board are all in slumber land thanks to incense filled hypnotic fumes.
At the climax, a duel occurs between Noah and Tubal-Cain but Ham decides to stab Tubal-Cain at the right moment. Ila deliver a pair of twins - both girls. In a dramatic attempt to kill his granddaughters, Noah succumbs to love. Rain stops and sun comes out.
In the next scene, Noah is living as a recluse drinking himself crazy. He is unwanted by his family for his wish to kill his grandchildren. He himself is disappointed for what he thinks as failing to carry out God's duty. He is also puzzled by the silence of God. After Ila made peace with him, saying maybe God actually wanted him to do all the things that he did because that is the plan after all. The family reunites except for Ham who moves away.
It seems that the story of Noah is patchy in the scriptures and the screenwriters decide to use their artistic licence to fill in the gap and paint a very humanistic Noah who underwent a stressful time deciding on the things he had to do. The scriptures do mention that Noah was indeed in an intoxicated condition and naked and his sons had to cover him up. There is hearsay of what actually happened here and how Ham was sent off with a curse. His descendants became slaves and coloured people.
Now, even that is disputed. The fact that only white actors appear in this film is a bone of contention for some.
Overall, an intense movie with the message that life decisions are difficult to make. One does not really knows whether he is making the right. Only time will tell.
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