The Young Messiah comes to theatres this Friday, and I’ll be posting lots of stuff about that all week, including an interview with the film’s director. In the meantime, Anne Rice — whose novel Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt was the basis for the film — has written a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter in which she explains why she wrote the book, and how she feels about the film. Spoiler alert: she likes it.
Here is a key excerpt from her column:
It’s no secret that it has taken quite a few years for this novel to make it to the big screen. Of course I hope the film will inspire people as the book has and I think the film is utterly faithful to my concerns. It invites the viewer to reflect on what it might have been like for Jesus to put aside His Omniscience as God and grow up amongst us. The film is an engulfing and entertaining and edifying depiction of the Son of God as a child. I am so thankful for this. So very thankful.
When releasing a novel to become a film, many authors are concerned their message will get lost in translation. This is not something I needed to be concerned about for the script written by Cyrus and Betsy Nowrasteh and the finished film are a marvel. My relationship with them was harmonious and creative and they were sensitive to all of my aims – that this film not violate the Bible, that it present Jesus as the Human Face of God and that it present the Jewish world of the First Century in a correct light.
Rice also refers to Jesus as “Our Blessed Lord” and uses similar language that reflects her devotion to Jesus. She does not address her rather public break with organized religion six years ago, when she “quit Christianity in the name of Christ”.
You can read about an early failed attempt to film Rice’s novel a decade ago here.
— The picture above is public domain and courtesy of Anne Rice’s website.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In