[EASTER SPECIAL] Movie Review: "The Miracle Maker" (1999) · 12:26am Apr 22nd, 2019
Hello, folks! Jade Dawn here, back again (and about time, too!) with another movie review.
And seeing as how today is Easter Sunday (well, at least for all of us living here on the East Coast of the United States), I thought it only fitting to write a movie review about the Son of God Himself.
If you've read the Bible, then I don't think I really need to outline the plot of the film. It's basically the story of Jesus' ministry on Earth, featuring a few of his parables and miracles, his entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, his Crucifixion, and his resurrection.
Now, I don't know about all of you, but out of all of the movies about Jesus I've seen, I honestly think this is the best one by far.
OK, I may be a little bit biased...I've been watching it since I was three, it's kind of ingrained in there. But even so, it's an absolutely amazing film.
First thing to note is the animation: the film is almost completely stop motion animated, and it looks simply beautiful. The only CGI I can remember hearing about are a few of the scenes involving water, but that's about it. But they don't just use stop-motion. For scenes involving the parables and flashbacks, they switch to a traditional animation format that kind of resembles pastel paintings, and compliments the stop-motion greatly.
The second noteworthy thing–and probably my favorite aspect of the film–is the portrayal of Jesus Christ, played by none other than Ralph Fiennes. Out of all the movies I've seen, this was the only one where Jesus actually felt to me like an approachable human being. Fiennes voices Him with such a sense of warmth and...and...I don't even know how to describe it, but it's just amazing. This depiction of Jesus is probably the most human I've ever seen Him. We see Him reminiscing with Mary about the time he ran off to the temple in Jerusalem; we see Him share laughs with friends and have supper with Lazarus' family; He weeps for the deaths of John the Baptist and later Lazarus before He brings him back to life. Whenever I think of Jesus, this is the movie that immediately comes to mind.
There's also a bit of good-natured humor injected into parts of the film. For instance: the scene where Jesus heals a paralytic. In the Bible, it is written that the house He was preaching in at the time was so crowded that the man's friends had to break a hole in the roof to lower him in. The Miracle Maker adds in one little detail: the house is actually the Apostle Peter's. So when they break a hole in the ceiling, we get a shot of Peter throwing his hands over his head and wailing "My roof!". In an otherwise serious scene, it adds a nice little bit of levity.
All in all, this is an amazing depiction of the last weeks of Jesus' ministry on Earth, and a beautiful film overall. 10/10. If you haven't seen it, then I strongly urge you to do so.
This is Jade Dawn, and He is risen.
Man. This does sound like an awesome film. Reading this review makes me want to see this film right away.
I really enjoyed it, and it’s nice to see you’re making a comeback to reviewing.
Huh. I'm interested. Have you heard of the Animated Stories from the Book of Mormon/Old Testament/New Testament? They're 20-minute short movies made by the same guy who made The Swan Princess. He's a member of my church. There are twelve stories from each piece of holy writ, and they're a pretty good way for people to get an overview of the stories the Book of Mormon teaches.