Finding forgiveness

BEN-HUR
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Cert: 12A. 123 minutes.

This is the latest adaptation of Lew Wallace’s book Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, the most famous being the 1959 film version starring Charlton Heston.

This modern take delivers on the iconic moments from that film (the galley ship, the chariot race, meeting Jesus), but is shorter. As a result, it’s a pacey blockbuster, which should appeal to contemporary audiences. While the ending is a bit rushed, the rest of the film is very well paced.

This review is based on an early screening of an almost finished version of the film, so it’s possible that there may be small changes before it goes on wide release on 7 September.

Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston) is a wealthy Jewish man around the time of Jesus. Judah and his Roman adopted brother Messala (Toby Kebbell) share a strong bond, which is severely tested as the turbulent political events of the time play out. When the tensions erupt, Judah is sent to row on a slave gallery. After five years of survival, he escapes and plots revenge against Messala.

Driven by hate

He meets the money-conscious Ilderim (Morgan Freeman), who serves as a smart but somewhat cynical mentor. Ilderim does point out, though, that if Judah is driven by hate, then he’s still just as much a slave as he was on the galley. This is subtly underlined by the score echoing the galley’s drumbeat after he first tries to take revenge.

While more speculative than this year’s Risen, Ben-Hur also incorporates aspects of Jesus’s life (and death) into the story, and often does so very effectively. A quick scene of the Garden of Gethsemane includes Jesus telling Peter ‘those who live by the sword will die by the sword’. This ties in very well with the film’s storyline.

In fact, forgiveness is a key theme running throughout. Ben-Hur is a thrilling, visceral film, featuring a terrific chariot race. It’s powerful and moving in its depiction of brotherhood, suffering, and ultimately the desire for vengeance being quenched by forgiveness (as Jesus is the water of life).

There is some violence, as well as brief scenes of injury and suchlike.

Ben-Hur is a redemptive film that should also appeal to a wide audience. It could provide great talking points for discussion with non-Christians.

Damaris Media, who helped organise the advance preview screening, have free resources for the film available at http:// benhur.damarismedia.com/