"Noah" (2014) movie review - Revision history

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	:: Stone giants, battle scenes, a satanic antihero and Russell Crowe's vegan cult leader — Aronofsky's nutso "Noah."		:: Stone giants, battle scenes, a satanic antihero and Russell Crowe's vegan cult leader — Aronofsky's nutso "Noah."

	:: This mightily strange motion picture, however, is a classic Hollywood blend of “devil’s candy” ~~â€“~~ a major movie star, the control-freak auteur of “Black Swan,” a budget reported at $130 million and one of the sketchiest episodes in the Abrahamic tradition, drawn from a few sentences in the Book of Genesis ~~â€“~~ designed to please everyone and likely to please almost no one.		:: This mightily strange motion picture, however, is a classic Hollywood blend of “devil’s candy” - a major movie star, the control-freak auteur of “Black Swan,” a budget reported at $130 million and one of the sketchiest episodes in the Abrahamic tradition, drawn from a few sentences in the Book of Genesis - designed to please everyone and likely to please almost no one.

	:: None of them is as interesting as the diabolical and charismatic Tubal-Cain (growly voiced Ray Winstone), king of the Cain faction, who vows to kill Noah and take that damn ark for himself if the promised great flood actually shows up. Tubal-Cain is a great character full of venal and crude humanity, part Milton’s Satan and part Nietzschean Superman, and is also 99 percent made up. (In the Bible he is described as a maker of “all kinds of bronze and iron tools.” That’s it.)		:: None of them is as interesting as the diabolical and charismatic Tubal-Cain (growly voiced Ray Winstone), king of the Cain faction, who vows to kill Noah and take that damn ark for himself if the promised great flood actually shows up. Tubal-Cain is a great character full of venal and crude humanity, part Milton’s Satan and part Nietzschean Superman, and is also 99 percent made up. (In the Bible he is described as a maker of “all kinds of bronze and iron tools.” That’s it.)

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	:; [http://www.salon.com/2014/03/27/noah_aronofskys_deranged_biblical_action_flick/ “Noah”: Aronofsky’s deranged biblical action flick."]		:; [http://www.salon.com/2014/03/27/noah_aronofskys_deranged_biblical_action_flick/ “Noah”: Aronofsky’s deranged biblical action flick."]

	:: Stone giants, battle scenes, a satanic antihero and Russell Crowe's vegan cult leader -- Aronofsky's nutso "Noah."		:: Stone giants, battle scenes, a satanic antihero and Russell Crowe's vegan cult leader — Aronofsky's nutso "Noah."

	:: This mightily strange motion picture, however, is a classic Hollywood blend of “devil’s candy” â€“ a major movie star, the control-freak auteur of “Black Swan,” a budget reported at $130 million and one of the sketchiest episodes in the Abrahamic tradition, drawn from a few sentences in the Book of Genesis â€“ designed to please everyone and likely to please almost no one.		:: This mightily strange motion picture, however, is a classic Hollywood blend of “devil’s candy” â€“ a major movie star, the control-freak auteur of “Black Swan,” a budget reported at $130 million and one of the sketchiest episodes in the Abrahamic tradition, drawn from a few sentences in the Book of Genesis â€“ designed to please everyone and likely to please almost no one.
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	Methuselah couldn't have healed Ila without God's power or against God's will!		Methuselah couldn't have healed Ila without God's power or against God's will!

	Drugged by Methuselah--"vision quest."		Drugged by Methuselah — "vision quest."

	Noah adopted Ila--it is arguably the central love story in the film.		Noah adopted Ila — it is arguably the central love story in the film.

	Animals alone are innocent, good, beautiful in Noah's eyes.		Animals alone are innocent, good, beautiful in Noah's eyes.
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	Noah: "There is no room. Mankind must end. We are all being punished."		Noah: "There is no room. Mankind must end. We are all being punished."

	Ham to Noah: "She was innocent." -- the girl Noah left to die in a trap.		Ham to Noah: "She was innocent." — the girl Noah left to die in a trap.

	Noah to God: "I cannot do this."		Noah to God: "I cannot do this."
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	Noah's wife to Noah: "He asked you to decide if we were worth saving."		Noah's wife to Noah: "He asked you to decide if we were worth saving."

	'''''Noah gives the covenant blessing to his twin daughters--not to his sons!''''' That means that the Shemites (Semites) are not the heirs of God's promise.		'''''Noah gives the covenant blessing to his twin daughters — not to his sons!''''' That means that the Shemites (Semites) are not the heirs of God's promise.

	Snakeskin relic? Why that?		Snakeskin relic? Why that?

	The Watchers turn against God to help humans who have been cast out of the Garden for disobedience to God--yuck!		The Watchers turn against God to help humans who have been cast out of the Garden for disobedience to God — yuck!

	Ila is the central character!		Ila is the central character!
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	Filthy literalists about 1500 years of silence in Genesis, but not about other aspects of the story (sky dome). It is theologically inconceivable that God did not speak to His children in their consciences for 1500 years. No RECORD of prophecy does not mean NO PROPHECY.		Filthy literalists about 1500 years of silence in Genesis, but not about other aspects of the story (sky dome). It is theologically inconceivable that God did not speak to His children in their consciences for 1500 years. No RECORD of prophecy does not mean NO PROPHECY.

	He uses the Scripture to justify some aspects of the movie, but sets Scripture aside to justify other aspects ("poetic license"). "Here it takes the Bible literally--the Nephilim are in the Bible!" "Yes, but so are Ham and Jepthah's wives."		He uses the Scripture to justify some aspects of the movie, but sets Scripture aside to justify other aspects ("poetic license"). "Here it takes the Bible literally — the Nephilim are in the Bible!" "Yes, but so are Ham and Jepthah's wives."

	Made him think and made him cry. Me, too, but not the same way.		Made him think and made him cry. Me, too, but not the same way.
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	Comic-book stuff.		Comic-book stuff.

	Where is the conversation with Ham about how Tubal-Cain rode the boat? How did he make a hole in the side of the ark big enough to crawl through? How did he patch the hole so Noah didn't notice it? Knife or sword--doesn't matter.		Where is the conversation with Ham about how Tubal-Cain rode the boat? How did he make a hole in the side of the ark big enough to crawl through? How did he patch the hole so Noah didn't notice it? Knife or sword — doesn't matter.

	Everything is just convenient. They need photogenic superheroes, so the beings of light get covered with rock. They need a battle scene. That's more fun than an angelic electric fence. They need a place for Ham to go looking for a woman. What the heck was the purpose of the bear trap? Who set that?		Everything is just convenient. They need photogenic superheroes, so the beings of light get covered with rock. They need a battle scene. That's more fun than an angelic electric fence. They need a place for Ham to go looking for a woman. What the heck was the purpose of the bear trap? Who set that?

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2022-12-10T09:35:05Z

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	:: While Noah is more righteous than his contemporaries (“righteous in his generation”), he follows a disturbing course of action he believes to be God’s will. Noah’s understanding of God’s will is not always clear, and for a key part of the story, he believes God wants him to do something appalling. While this is not contrary to the biblical text (and while God actually does command other people in Scripture to do similar things), some will not appreciate this disturbing portrait of Noah.		:: While Noah is more righteous than his contemporaries (“righteous in his generation”), he follows a disturbing course of action he believes to be God’s will. Noah’s understanding of God’s will is not always clear, and for a key part of the story, he believes God wants him to do something appalling. While this is not contrary to the biblical text (and while God actually does command other people in Scripture to do similar things), some will not appreciate this disturbing portrait of Noah.

	:: Without getting into major spoilers, as the drama unfolds, the exact cast of characters on the ark is somewhat fuzzy. However, as my review notes, “in the end, the filmmakers can claim to have satisfied the text ~~â€”~~ just barely.” (Moderate spoiler warning: While on the ark, not all of Noah’s three sons are married. However, the film has not forgotten their wives, or the ones they will marry.)		:: Without getting into major spoilers, as the drama unfolds, the exact cast of characters on the ark is somewhat fuzzy. However, as my review notes, “in the end, the filmmakers can claim to have satisfied the text — just barely.” (Moderate spoiler warning: While on the ark, not all of Noah’s three sons are married. However, the film has not forgotten their wives, or the ones they will marry.)

	:: The sole issue, if you can call it that, is that characters in Noah generally speak, not of “God,” but of “the Creator.” It’s hard to imagine anyone considering this controversial or problematic, but for some reason the claim that “God is never mentioned” in the film refuses to die ~~â€”~~ even though the Creator actually is referred to as “God” at least once, when Ham tells Tubal-cain, “My father says there can be no king; the Creator is God.”		:: The sole issue, if you can call it that, is that characters in Noah generally speak, not of “God,” but of “the Creator.” It’s hard to imagine anyone considering this controversial or problematic, but for some reason the claim that “God is never mentioned” in the film refuses to die — even though the Creator actually is referred to as “God” at least once, when Ham tells Tubal-cain, “My father says there can be no king; the Creator is God.”

	:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/sdg-reviews-noah "SDG Reviews ‘Noah’."]		:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/sdg-reviews-noah "SDG Reviews ‘Noah’."]
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	:: My main theological quarrel with Noah, and it’s an important one, is nothing the filmmakers put in, but something they left out: Genesis’ clear vision of mankind as the pinnacle of God’s creative work. In Genesis 1, it is only after God creates man in his image that we get the summary benediction, “God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).		:: My main theological quarrel with Noah, and it’s an important one, is nothing the filmmakers put in, but something they left out: Genesis’ clear vision of mankind as the pinnacle of God’s creative work. In Genesis 1, it is only after God creates man in his image that we get the summary benediction, “God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).

	:: Noah’s retelling alters this, with a ringing summary benediction of the glory and balance of creation (“a jewel in the Creator’s hand”) coming before the creation of man. This gives man an ambiguous status in the narrative ~~â€”~~ particularly since Noah omits the words “in his image.”		:: Noah’s retelling alters this, with a ringing summary benediction of the glory and balance of creation (“a jewel in the Creator’s hand”) coming before the creation of man. This gives man an ambiguous status in the narrative — particularly since Noah omits the words “in his image.”

	:: Caveat Spectator: Action violence and battle mayhem; disturbing images; a childbirth scene (nothing explicit); brief sensuality; fleeting rear nudity (a brief, distant shot of a nude man lying face down); theological ambiguities requiring critical thought. Might be fine for thoughtful, mature teens.		:: Caveat Spectator: Action violence and battle mayhem; disturbing images; a childbirth scene (nothing explicit); brief sensuality; fleeting rear nudity (a brief, distant shot of a nude man lying face down); theological ambiguities requiring critical thought. Might be fine for thoughtful, mature teens.

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← Older revision		Revision as of 11:20, 10 December 2022
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	:: Russell Crowe, Emma Watson		:: Russell Crowe, Emma Watson

	:: "With a $125 million budget, the film is said to be more of an edgy action epic that depicts a man who fights off his enemies as he prepares for a coming apocalypse, rather than a story of a 'preacher of righteousness' who calls the world to repentance from sin."<ref>[http://christiannews.net/2013/11/17/new-noah-film-starring-russell-crowe-flooded-with-controversy/ "New ~~â€˜Noah’~~ Film Starring Russell Crowe Flooded With Controversy."]</ref>		:: "With a $125 million budget, the film is said to be more of an edgy action epic that depicts a man who fights off his enemies as he prepares for a coming apocalypse, rather than a story of a 'preacher of righteousness' who calls the world to repentance from sin."<ref>[http://christiannews.net/2013/11/17/new-noah-film-starring-russell-crowe-flooded-with-controversy/ "New ‘Noah’ Film Starring Russell Crowe Flooded With Controversy."]</ref>

	:: "A number of battle scenes are said to fill the film, which in some aspects are reminiscent of Gladiator. Six-armed angels, known as Watchers, are also introduced, 'who came down from Heaven to help fallen humanity by granting them wonders of knowledge from magic to science to stars, metal, and fire.'" <YUCK!>		:: "A number of battle scenes are said to fill the film, which in some aspects are reminiscent of Gladiator. Six-armed angels, known as Watchers, are also introduced, 'who came down from Heaven to help fallen humanity by granting them wonders of knowledge from magic to science to stars, metal, and fire.'" <YUCK!>
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	== Greydanus ==		== Greydanus ==

	:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/noah-controversy/ "The ~~â€˜Noah’~~ Movie Controversies: Questions and Answers."]		:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/noah-controversy/ "The ‘Noah’ Movie Controversies: Questions and Answers."]

	:: While Noah is more righteous than his contemporaries (“righteous in his generation”), he follows a disturbing course of action he believes to be God’s will. Noah’s understanding of God’s will is not always clear, and for a key part of the story, he believes God wants him to do something appalling. While this is not contrary to the biblical text (and while God actually does command other people in Scripture to do similar things), some will not appreciate this disturbing portrait of Noah.		:: While Noah is more righteous than his contemporaries (“righteous in his generation”), he follows a disturbing course of action he believes to be God’s will. Noah’s understanding of God’s will is not always clear, and for a key part of the story, he believes God wants him to do something appalling. While this is not contrary to the biblical text (and while God actually does command other people in Scripture to do similar things), some will not appreciate this disturbing portrait of Noah.
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	:: The sole issue, if you can call it that, is that characters in Noah generally speak, not of “God,” but of “the Creator.” It’s hard to imagine anyone considering this controversial or problematic, but for some reason the claim that “God is never mentioned” in the film refuses to die â€” even though the Creator actually is referred to as “God” at least once, when Ham tells Tubal-cain, “My father says there can be no king; the Creator is God.”		:: The sole issue, if you can call it that, is that characters in Noah generally speak, not of “God,” but of “the Creator.” It’s hard to imagine anyone considering this controversial or problematic, but for some reason the claim that “God is never mentioned” in the film refuses to die â€” even though the Creator actually is referred to as “God” at least once, when Ham tells Tubal-cain, “My father says there can be no king; the Creator is God.”

	:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/sdg-reviews-noah "SDG Reviews ~~â€˜Noah’~~."]		:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/sdg-reviews-noah "SDG Reviews ‘Noah’."]

	:: Rocking the boat: The first major big-studio Bible film in decades is a provocative take on the venerable story of the Flood.		:: Rocking the boat: The first major big-studio Bible film in decades is a provocative take on the venerable story of the Flood.
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	:: Caveat Spectator: Action violence and battle mayhem; disturbing images; a childbirth scene (nothing explicit); brief sensuality; fleeting rear nudity (a brief, distant shot of a nude man lying face down); theological ambiguities requiring critical thought. Might be fine for thoughtful, mature teens.		:: Caveat Spectator: Action violence and battle mayhem; disturbing images; a childbirth scene (nothing explicit); brief sensuality; fleeting rear nudity (a brief, distant shot of a nude man lying face down); theological ambiguities requiring critical thought. Might be fine for thoughtful, mature teens.

	:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/interview-darren-aronofsky-ari-handel "Daily News Interview: ~~â€˜Noah’~~ Writer-Director Darren Aronofsky and Co-Writer Ari."]		:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/interview-darren-aronofsky-ari-handel "Daily News Interview: ‘Noah’ Writer-Director Darren Aronofsky and Co-Writer Ari."]

	:: Aronofsky: We wanted the audience to understand how much it grieved the Creator’s heart to destroy his creation. And part of what grieved his heart, I believe, is that there was, say, an innocent baby who was born five minutes before the flood happened. Methuselah died in the flood. All those animals that didn’t get on the ark that were part of his creation [died too].		:: Aronofsky: We wanted the audience to understand how much it grieved the Creator’s heart to destroy his creation. And part of what grieved his heart, I believe, is that there was, say, an innocent baby who was born five minutes before the flood happened. Methuselah died in the flood. All those animals that didn’t get on the ark that were part of his creation [died too].

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Mxmsj: /* My take */

2014-04-13T01:49:55Z

My take

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 ::- She saves her daughters by singing Noah's lullaby to them.
 ::- She reconciles Noah to the family.
 == References ==

Mxmsj: /* My take */

2014-04-13T01:25:09Z

My take

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:25, 13 April 2014
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	:: Darren Aronofsky, the genius director who made Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler and Black Swan, pulls another The Fountain this time out, overindulging his grand aspirations for the artiest of arty art that belly flops into pretentious nonsense.		:: Darren Aronofsky, the genius director who made Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler and Black Swan, pulls another The Fountain this time out, overindulging his grand aspirations for the artiest of arty art that belly flops into pretentious nonsense.

			== Greydanus ==

			:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/noah-controversy/ "The â€˜Noahâ€™ Movie Controversies: Questions and Answers."]

			:: While Noah is more righteous than his contemporaries (â€œrighteous in his generationâ€), he follows a disturbing course of action he believes to be Godâ€™s will. Noahâ€™s understanding of Godâ€™s will is not always clear, and for a key part of the story, he believes God wants him to do something appalling. While this is not contrary to the biblical text (and while God actually does command other people in Scripture to do similar things), some will not appreciate this disturbing portrait of Noah.

			:: Without getting into major spoilers, as the drama unfolds, the exact cast of characters on the ark is somewhat fuzzy. However, as my review notes, â€œin the end, the filmmakers can claim to have satisfied the text â€” just barely.â€ (Moderate spoiler warning: While on the ark, not all of Noahâ€™s three sons are married. However, the film has not forgotten their wives, or the ones they will marry.)

			:: The sole issue, if you can call it that, is that characters in Noah generally speak, not of â€œGod,â€ but of â€œthe Creator.â€ Itâ€™s hard to imagine anyone considering this controversial or problematic, but for some reason the claim that â€œGod is never mentionedâ€ in the film refuses to die â€” even though the Creator actually is referred to as â€œGodâ€ at least once, when Ham tells Tubal-cain, â€œMy father says there can be no king; the Creator is God.â€

			:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/sdg-reviews-noah "SDG Reviews â€˜Noahâ€™."]

			:: Rocking the boat: The first major big-studio Bible film in decades is a provocative take on the venerable story of the Flood.

			:: It is not a â€œBible movieâ€ in the usual sense, with all the story beats predetermined by the text, and actors in ancient Near Eastern couture hitting their marks and saying all the expected things. It is something more vital, surprising and confounding: a work of art and imagination that makes this most familiar of tales strange and new: at times illuminating the text, at times stretching it to the breaking point, at times inviting cross-examination and critique.

			:: Have Aronofsky (raised with a Jewish education) and co-writer Ari Handel made a film thatâ€™s too religious for secular viewers and too secular for religious ones? Who is the audience?

			:: Well, I am, to begin with. For a lifelong Bible geek and lover of movie-making and storytelling like me, Noah is a rare gift: a blend of epic spectacle, startling character drama and creative reworking of Scripture and other ancient Jewish and rabbinic writings. Itâ€™s a movie with much to look at, much to think about and much to feel; a movie to argue about, and argue with.

			:: My main theological quarrel with Noah, and itâ€™s an important one, is nothing the filmmakers put in, but something they left out: Genesisâ€™ clear vision of mankind as the pinnacle of Godâ€™s creative work. In Genesis 1, it is only after God creates man in his image that we get the summary benediction, â€œGod saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very goodâ€ (Genesis 1:31).

			:: Noahâ€™s retelling alters this, with a ringing summary benediction of the glory and balance of creation (â€œa jewel in the Creatorâ€™s handâ€) coming before the creation of man. This gives man an ambiguous status in the narrative â€” particularly since Noah omits the words â€œin his image.â€

			:: Caveat Spectator: Action violence and battle mayhem; disturbing images; a childbirth scene (nothing explicit); brief sensuality; fleeting rear nudity (a brief, distant shot of a nude man lying face down); theological ambiguities requiring critical thought. Might be fine for thoughtful, mature teens.

			:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/interview-darren-aronofsky-ari-handel "Daily News Interview: â€˜Noahâ€™ Writer-Director Darren Aronofsky and Co-Writer Ari."]

			:: Aronofsky: We wanted the audience to understand how much it grieved the Creatorâ€™s heart to destroy his creation. And part of what grieved his heart, I believe, is that there was, say, an innocent baby who was born five minutes before the flood happened. Methuselah died in the flood. All those animals that didnâ€™t get on the ark that were part of his creation [died too].

			:: Handel: The image a lot of people probably have of how God feels even toward anyone whoâ€™s wicked is that thereâ€™s love there. So thereâ€™s no question that killing all these people, whatever they may have been, had to be incredibly difficult. We wanted to feel that difficulty. Itâ€™s very easy to say, â€œThese are the bad guys; they should die. These are the good guys; they shouldnâ€™t die.â€

			:: Aronofsky: Noahâ€™s a real human being in incredible circumstances, and through them, he becomes a prophet. And you identify with him. Thatâ€™s my understanding of the Christ story: that he came down to experience life as a real man, and we can all identify with him.

	== My take ==		== My take ==

Mxmsj at 11:46, 3 April 2014

2014-04-03T11:46:24Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:46, 3 April 2014
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	== Links ==		== Links ==

	[[Category:Reviews]]		[[Category:Reviews\|Noah]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:20, 10 December 2022
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	:: "A number of battle scenes are said to fill the film, which in some aspects are reminiscent of Gladiator. Six-armed angels, known as Watchers, are also introduced, 'who came down from Heaven to help fallen humanity by granting them wonders of knowledge from magic to science to stars, metal, and fire.'" <YUCK!>		:: "A number of battle scenes are said to fill the film, which in some aspects are reminiscent of Gladiator. Six-armed angels, known as Watchers, are also introduced, 'who came down from Heaven to help fallen humanity by granting them wonders of knowledge from magic to science to stars, metal, and fire.'" <YUCK!>

	:; [http://www.salon.com/2014/03/27/noah_aronofskys_deranged_biblical_action_flick/ ~~“Noahâ€~~: Aronofsky’s deranged biblical action flick."]		:; [http://www.salon.com/2014/03/27/noah_aronofskys_deranged_biblical_action_flick/ “Noah”: Aronofsky’s deranged biblical action flick."]

	:: Stone giants, battle scenes, a satanic antihero and Russell Crowe's vegan cult leader -- Aronofsky's nutso "Noah."		:: Stone giants, battle scenes, a satanic antihero and Russell Crowe's vegan cult leader -- Aronofsky's nutso "Noah."

	:: This mightily strange motion picture, however, is a classic Hollywood blend of “devil’s ~~candyâ€~~ â€“ a major movie star, the control-freak auteur of “Black Swan,~~â€~~ a budget reported at $130 million and one of the sketchiest episodes in the Abrahamic tradition, drawn from a few sentences in the Book of Genesis â€“ designed to please everyone and likely to please almost no one.		:: This mightily strange motion picture, however, is a classic Hollywood blend of “devil’s candy” â€“ a major movie star, the control-freak auteur of “Black Swan,” a budget reported at $130 million and one of the sketchiest episodes in the Abrahamic tradition, drawn from a few sentences in the Book of Genesis â€“ designed to please everyone and likely to please almost no one.

	:: None of them is as interesting as the diabolical and charismatic Tubal-Cain (growly voiced Ray Winstone), king of the Cain faction, who vows to kill Noah and take that damn ark for himself if the promised great flood actually shows up. Tubal-Cain is a great character full of venal and crude humanity, part Milton’s Satan and part Nietzschean Superman, and is also 99 percent made up. (In the Bible he is described as a maker of “all kinds of bronze and iron tools.~~â€~~ That’s it.)		:: None of them is as interesting as the diabolical and charismatic Tubal-Cain (growly voiced Ray Winstone), king of the Cain faction, who vows to kill Noah and take that damn ark for himself if the promised great flood actually shows up. Tubal-Cain is a great character full of venal and crude humanity, part Milton’s Satan and part Nietzschean Superman, and is also 99 percent made up. (In the Bible he is described as a maker of “all kinds of bronze and iron tools.” That’s it.)

	:: There’s an extremely long-winded theological back story about how these guys are fallen angels who got coated in molten lava, and no, I’m not even kidding. Alert readers of the Bible will recognize them as the mysterious Nephilim, described in Genesis 6 as “sons of God â€¦ heroes that were of ~~oldâ€~~ and the source of much exegetical agony.		:: There’s an extremely long-winded theological back story about how these guys are fallen angels who got coated in molten lava, and no, I’m not even kidding. Alert readers of the Bible will recognize them as the mysterious Nephilim, described in Genesis 6 as “sons of God â€¦ heroes that were of old” and the source of much exegetical agony.

	:: the word ~~“Godâ€~~ is never used		:: the word “God” is never used

	:; [http://coed.com/2014/03/28/noah-makes-the-great-flood-a-grating-dud-movie-review/ ~~“Noahâ€~~ makes the Great Flood a grating dud.]		:; [http://coed.com/2014/03/28/noah-makes-the-great-flood-a-grating-dud-movie-review/ “Noah” makes the Great Flood a grating dud.]

	:: Darren Aronofsky, the genius director who made Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler and Black Swan, pulls another The Fountain this time out, overindulging his grand aspirations for the artiest of arty art that belly flops into pretentious nonsense.		:: Darren Aronofsky, the genius director who made Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler and Black Swan, pulls another The Fountain this time out, overindulging his grand aspirations for the artiest of arty art that belly flops into pretentious nonsense.
Line 40:		Line 40:
	:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/noah-controversy/ "The â€˜Noah’ Movie Controversies: Questions and Answers."]		:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/noah-controversy/ "The â€˜Noah’ Movie Controversies: Questions and Answers."]

	:: While Noah is more righteous than his contemporaries (“righteous in his ~~generationâ€~~), he follows a disturbing course of action he believes to be God’s will. Noah’s understanding of God’s will is not always clear, and for a key part of the story, he believes God wants him to do something appalling. While this is not contrary to the biblical text (and while God actually does command other people in Scripture to do similar things), some will not appreciate this disturbing portrait of Noah.		:: While Noah is more righteous than his contemporaries (“righteous in his generation”), he follows a disturbing course of action he believes to be God’s will. Noah’s understanding of God’s will is not always clear, and for a key part of the story, he believes God wants him to do something appalling. While this is not contrary to the biblical text (and while God actually does command other people in Scripture to do similar things), some will not appreciate this disturbing portrait of Noah.

	:: Without getting into major spoilers, as the drama unfolds, the exact cast of characters on the ark is somewhat fuzzy. However, as my review notes, “in the end, the filmmakers can claim to have satisfied the text â€” just barely.~~â€~~ (Moderate spoiler warning: While on the ark, not all of Noah’s three sons are married. However, the film has not forgotten their wives, or the ones they will marry.)		:: Without getting into major spoilers, as the drama unfolds, the exact cast of characters on the ark is somewhat fuzzy. However, as my review notes, “in the end, the filmmakers can claim to have satisfied the text â€” just barely.” (Moderate spoiler warning: While on the ark, not all of Noah’s three sons are married. However, the film has not forgotten their wives, or the ones they will marry.)

	:: The sole issue, if you can call it that, is that characters in Noah generally speak, not of “God,~~â€~~ but of “the Creator.~~â€~~ It’s hard to imagine anyone considering this controversial or problematic, but for some reason the claim that “God is never ~~mentionedâ€~~ in the film refuses to die â€” even though the Creator actually is referred to as ~~“Godâ€~~ at least once, when Ham tells Tubal-cain, “My father says there can be no king; the Creator is God.~~â€~~		:: The sole issue, if you can call it that, is that characters in Noah generally speak, not of “God,” but of “the Creator.” It’s hard to imagine anyone considering this controversial or problematic, but for some reason the claim that “God is never mentioned” in the film refuses to die â€” even though the Creator actually is referred to as “God” at least once, when Ham tells Tubal-cain, “My father says there can be no king; the Creator is God.”

	:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/sdg-reviews-noah "SDG Reviews â€˜Noah’."]		:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/sdg-reviews-noah "SDG Reviews â€˜Noah’."]
Line 50:		Line 50:
	:: Rocking the boat: The first major big-studio Bible film in decades is a provocative take on the venerable story of the Flood.		:: Rocking the boat: The first major big-studio Bible film in decades is a provocative take on the venerable story of the Flood.

	:: It is not a “Bible ~~movieâ€~~ in the usual sense, with all the story beats predetermined by the text, and actors in ancient Near Eastern couture hitting their marks and saying all the expected things. It is something more vital, surprising and confounding: a work of art and imagination that makes this most familiar of tales strange and new: at times illuminating the text, at times stretching it to the breaking point, at times inviting cross-examination and critique.		:: It is not a “Bible movie” in the usual sense, with all the story beats predetermined by the text, and actors in ancient Near Eastern couture hitting their marks and saying all the expected things. It is something more vital, surprising and confounding: a work of art and imagination that makes this most familiar of tales strange and new: at times illuminating the text, at times stretching it to the breaking point, at times inviting cross-examination and critique.

	:: Have Aronofsky (raised with a Jewish education) and co-writer Ari Handel made a film that’s too religious for secular viewers and too secular for religious ones? Who is the audience?		:: Have Aronofsky (raised with a Jewish education) and co-writer Ari Handel made a film that’s too religious for secular viewers and too secular for religious ones? Who is the audience?
Line 56:		Line 56:
	:: Well, I am, to begin with. For a lifelong Bible geek and lover of movie-making and storytelling like me, Noah is a rare gift: a blend of epic spectacle, startling character drama and creative reworking of Scripture and other ancient Jewish and rabbinic writings. It’s a movie with much to look at, much to think about and much to feel; a movie to argue about, and argue with.		:: Well, I am, to begin with. For a lifelong Bible geek and lover of movie-making and storytelling like me, Noah is a rare gift: a blend of epic spectacle, startling character drama and creative reworking of Scripture and other ancient Jewish and rabbinic writings. It’s a movie with much to look at, much to think about and much to feel; a movie to argue about, and argue with.

	:: My main theological quarrel with Noah, and it’s an important one, is nothing the filmmakers put in, but something they left out: Genesis’ clear vision of mankind as the pinnacle of God’s creative work. In Genesis 1, it is only after God creates man in his image that we get the summary benediction, “God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very ~~goodâ€~~ (Genesis 1:31).		:: My main theological quarrel with Noah, and it’s an important one, is nothing the filmmakers put in, but something they left out: Genesis’ clear vision of mankind as the pinnacle of God’s creative work. In Genesis 1, it is only after God creates man in his image that we get the summary benediction, “God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).

	:: Noah’s retelling alters this, with a ringing summary benediction of the glory and balance of creation (“a jewel in the Creator’s ~~handâ€~~) coming before the creation of man. This gives man an ambiguous status in the narrative â€” particularly since Noah omits the words “in his image.~~â€~~		:: Noah’s retelling alters this, with a ringing summary benediction of the glory and balance of creation (“a jewel in the Creator’s hand”) coming before the creation of man. This gives man an ambiguous status in the narrative â€” particularly since Noah omits the words “in his image.”

	:: Caveat Spectator: Action violence and battle mayhem; disturbing images; a childbirth scene (nothing explicit); brief sensuality; fleeting rear nudity (a brief, distant shot of a nude man lying face down); theological ambiguities requiring critical thought. Might be fine for thoughtful, mature teens.		:: Caveat Spectator: Action violence and battle mayhem; disturbing images; a childbirth scene (nothing explicit); brief sensuality; fleeting rear nudity (a brief, distant shot of a nude man lying face down); theological ambiguities requiring critical thought. Might be fine for thoughtful, mature teens.
Line 66:		Line 66:
	:: Aronofsky: We wanted the audience to understand how much it grieved the Creator’s heart to destroy his creation. And part of what grieved his heart, I believe, is that there was, say, an innocent baby who was born five minutes before the flood happened. Methuselah died in the flood. All those animals that didn’t get on the ark that were part of his creation [died too].		:: Aronofsky: We wanted the audience to understand how much it grieved the Creator’s heart to destroy his creation. And part of what grieved his heart, I believe, is that there was, say, an innocent baby who was born five minutes before the flood happened. Methuselah died in the flood. All those animals that didn’t get on the ark that were part of his creation [died too].

	:: Handel: The image a lot of people probably have of how God feels even toward anyone who’s wicked is that there’s love there. So there’s no question that killing all these people, whatever they may have been, had to be incredibly difficult. We wanted to feel that difficulty. It’s very easy to say, “These are the bad guys; they should die. These are the good guys; they shouldn’t die.~~â€~~		:: Handel: The image a lot of people probably have of how God feels even toward anyone who’s wicked is that there’s love there. So there’s no question that killing all these people, whatever they may have been, had to be incredibly difficult. We wanted to feel that difficulty. It’s very easy to say, “These are the bad guys; they should die. These are the good guys; they shouldn’t die.”

	:: Aronofsky: Noah’s a real human being in incredible circumstances, and through them, he becomes a prophet. And you identify with him. That’s my understanding of the Christ story: that he came down to experience life as a real man, and we can all identify with him.		:: Aronofsky: Noah’s a real human being in incredible circumstances, and through them, he becomes a prophet. And you identify with him. That’s my understanding of the Christ story: that he came down to experience life as a real man, and we can all identify with him.

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:17, 10 December 2022
Line 20:		Line 20:
	:: "A number of battle scenes are said to fill the film, which in some aspects are reminiscent of Gladiator. Six-armed angels, known as Watchers, are also introduced, 'who came down from Heaven to help fallen humanity by granting them wonders of knowledge from magic to science to stars, metal, and fire.'" <YUCK!>		:: "A number of battle scenes are said to fill the film, which in some aspects are reminiscent of Gladiator. Six-armed angels, known as Watchers, are also introduced, 'who came down from Heaven to help fallen humanity by granting them wonders of knowledge from magic to science to stars, metal, and fire.'" <YUCK!>

	:; [http://www.salon.com/2014/03/27/noah_aronofskys_deranged_biblical_action_flick/ ~~â€œNoahâ€~~: Aronofsky’s deranged biblical action flick."]		:; [http://www.salon.com/2014/03/27/noah_aronofskys_deranged_biblical_action_flick/ “Noahâ€: Aronofsky’s deranged biblical action flick."]

	:: Stone giants, battle scenes, a satanic antihero and Russell Crowe's vegan cult leader -- Aronofsky's nutso "Noah."		:: Stone giants, battle scenes, a satanic antihero and Russell Crowe's vegan cult leader -- Aronofsky's nutso "Noah."

	:: This mightily strange motion picture, however, is a classic Hollywood blend of ~~â€œdevil’s~~ candyâ€ â€“ a major movie star, the control-freak auteur of ~~â€œBlack~~ Swan,â€ a budget reported at $130 million and one of the sketchiest episodes in the Abrahamic tradition, drawn from a few sentences in the Book of Genesis â€“ designed to please everyone and likely to please almost no one.		:: This mightily strange motion picture, however, is a classic Hollywood blend of “devil’s candyâ€ â€“ a major movie star, the control-freak auteur of “Black Swan,â€ a budget reported at $130 million and one of the sketchiest episodes in the Abrahamic tradition, drawn from a few sentences in the Book of Genesis â€“ designed to please everyone and likely to please almost no one.

	:: None of them is as interesting as the diabolical and charismatic Tubal-Cain (growly voiced Ray Winstone), king of the Cain faction, who vows to kill Noah and take that damn ark for himself if the promised great flood actually shows up. Tubal-Cain is a great character full of venal and crude humanity, part Milton’s Satan and part Nietzschean Superman, and is also 99 percent made up. (In the Bible he is described as a maker of ~~â€œall~~ kinds of bronze and iron tools.â€ That’s it.)		:: None of them is as interesting as the diabolical and charismatic Tubal-Cain (growly voiced Ray Winstone), king of the Cain faction, who vows to kill Noah and take that damn ark for himself if the promised great flood actually shows up. Tubal-Cain is a great character full of venal and crude humanity, part Milton’s Satan and part Nietzschean Superman, and is also 99 percent made up. (In the Bible he is described as a maker of “all kinds of bronze and iron tools.â€ That’s it.)

	:: There’s an extremely long-winded theological back story about how these guys are fallen angels who got coated in molten lava, and no, I’m not even kidding. Alert readers of the Bible will recognize them as the mysterious Nephilim, described in Genesis 6 as ~~â€œsons~~ of God â€¦ heroes that were of oldâ€ and the source of much exegetical agony.		:: There’s an extremely long-winded theological back story about how these guys are fallen angels who got coated in molten lava, and no, I’m not even kidding. Alert readers of the Bible will recognize them as the mysterious Nephilim, described in Genesis 6 as “sons of God â€¦ heroes that were of oldâ€ and the source of much exegetical agony.

	:: the word ~~â€œGodâ€~~ is never used		:: the word “Godâ€ is never used

	:; [http://coed.com/2014/03/28/noah-makes-the-great-flood-a-grating-dud-movie-review/ ~~â€œNoahâ€~~ makes the Great Flood a grating dud.]		:; [http://coed.com/2014/03/28/noah-makes-the-great-flood-a-grating-dud-movie-review/ “Noahâ€ makes the Great Flood a grating dud.]

	:: Darren Aronofsky, the genius director who made Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler and Black Swan, pulls another The Fountain this time out, overindulging his grand aspirations for the artiest of arty art that belly flops into pretentious nonsense.		:: Darren Aronofsky, the genius director who made Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler and Black Swan, pulls another The Fountain this time out, overindulging his grand aspirations for the artiest of arty art that belly flops into pretentious nonsense.
Line 40:		Line 40:
	:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/noah-controversy/ "The â€˜Noah’ Movie Controversies: Questions and Answers."]		:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/noah-controversy/ "The â€˜Noah’ Movie Controversies: Questions and Answers."]

	:: While Noah is more righteous than his contemporaries (~~â€œrighteous~~ in his generationâ€), he follows a disturbing course of action he believes to be God’s will. Noah’s understanding of God’s will is not always clear, and for a key part of the story, he believes God wants him to do something appalling. While this is not contrary to the biblical text (and while God actually does command other people in Scripture to do similar things), some will not appreciate this disturbing portrait of Noah.		:: While Noah is more righteous than his contemporaries (“righteous in his generationâ€), he follows a disturbing course of action he believes to be God’s will. Noah’s understanding of God’s will is not always clear, and for a key part of the story, he believes God wants him to do something appalling. While this is not contrary to the biblical text (and while God actually does command other people in Scripture to do similar things), some will not appreciate this disturbing portrait of Noah.

	:: Without getting into major spoilers, as the drama unfolds, the exact cast of characters on the ark is somewhat fuzzy. However, as my review notes, ~~â€œin~~ the end, the filmmakers can claim to have satisfied the text â€” just barely.â€ (Moderate spoiler warning: While on the ark, not all of Noah’s three sons are married. However, the film has not forgotten their wives, or the ones they will marry.)		:: Without getting into major spoilers, as the drama unfolds, the exact cast of characters on the ark is somewhat fuzzy. However, as my review notes, “in the end, the filmmakers can claim to have satisfied the text â€” just barely.â€ (Moderate spoiler warning: While on the ark, not all of Noah’s three sons are married. However, the film has not forgotten their wives, or the ones they will marry.)

	:: The sole issue, if you can call it that, is that characters in Noah generally speak, not of ~~â€œGod~~,â€ but of ~~â€œthe~~ Creator.â€ It’s hard to imagine anyone considering this controversial or problematic, but for some reason the claim that ~~â€œGod~~ is never mentionedâ€ in the film refuses to die â€” even though the Creator actually is referred to as ~~â€œGodâ€~~ at least once, when Ham tells Tubal-cain, ~~â€œMy~~ father says there can be no king; the Creator is God.â€		:: The sole issue, if you can call it that, is that characters in Noah generally speak, not of “God,â€ but of “the Creator.â€ It’s hard to imagine anyone considering this controversial or problematic, but for some reason the claim that “God is never mentionedâ€ in the film refuses to die â€” even though the Creator actually is referred to as “Godâ€ at least once, when Ham tells Tubal-cain, “My father says there can be no king; the Creator is God.â€

	:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/sdg-reviews-noah "SDG Reviews â€˜Noah’."]		:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/sdg-reviews-noah "SDG Reviews â€˜Noah’."]
Line 50:		Line 50:
	:: Rocking the boat: The first major big-studio Bible film in decades is a provocative take on the venerable story of the Flood.		:: Rocking the boat: The first major big-studio Bible film in decades is a provocative take on the venerable story of the Flood.

	:: It is not a ~~â€œBible~~ movieâ€ in the usual sense, with all the story beats predetermined by the text, and actors in ancient Near Eastern couture hitting their marks and saying all the expected things. It is something more vital, surprising and confounding: a work of art and imagination that makes this most familiar of tales strange and new: at times illuminating the text, at times stretching it to the breaking point, at times inviting cross-examination and critique.		:: It is not a “Bible movieâ€ in the usual sense, with all the story beats predetermined by the text, and actors in ancient Near Eastern couture hitting their marks and saying all the expected things. It is something more vital, surprising and confounding: a work of art and imagination that makes this most familiar of tales strange and new: at times illuminating the text, at times stretching it to the breaking point, at times inviting cross-examination and critique.

	:: Have Aronofsky (raised with a Jewish education) and co-writer Ari Handel made a film that’s too religious for secular viewers and too secular for religious ones? Who is the audience?		:: Have Aronofsky (raised with a Jewish education) and co-writer Ari Handel made a film that’s too religious for secular viewers and too secular for religious ones? Who is the audience?
Line 56:		Line 56:
	:: Well, I am, to begin with. For a lifelong Bible geek and lover of movie-making and storytelling like me, Noah is a rare gift: a blend of epic spectacle, startling character drama and creative reworking of Scripture and other ancient Jewish and rabbinic writings. It’s a movie with much to look at, much to think about and much to feel; a movie to argue about, and argue with.		:: Well, I am, to begin with. For a lifelong Bible geek and lover of movie-making and storytelling like me, Noah is a rare gift: a blend of epic spectacle, startling character drama and creative reworking of Scripture and other ancient Jewish and rabbinic writings. It’s a movie with much to look at, much to think about and much to feel; a movie to argue about, and argue with.

	:: My main theological quarrel with Noah, and it’s an important one, is nothing the filmmakers put in, but something they left out: Genesis’ clear vision of mankind as the pinnacle of God’s creative work. In Genesis 1, it is only after God creates man in his image that we get the summary benediction, ~~â€œGod~~ saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very goodâ€ (Genesis 1:31).		:: My main theological quarrel with Noah, and it’s an important one, is nothing the filmmakers put in, but something they left out: Genesis’ clear vision of mankind as the pinnacle of God’s creative work. In Genesis 1, it is only after God creates man in his image that we get the summary benediction, “God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very goodâ€ (Genesis 1:31).

	:: Noah’s retelling alters this, with a ringing summary benediction of the glory and balance of creation (~~â€œa~~ jewel in the Creator’s handâ€) coming before the creation of man. This gives man an ambiguous status in the narrative â€” particularly since Noah omits the words ~~â€œin~~ his image.â€		:: Noah’s retelling alters this, with a ringing summary benediction of the glory and balance of creation (“a jewel in the Creator’s handâ€) coming before the creation of man. This gives man an ambiguous status in the narrative â€” particularly since Noah omits the words “in his image.â€

	:: Caveat Spectator: Action violence and battle mayhem; disturbing images; a childbirth scene (nothing explicit); brief sensuality; fleeting rear nudity (a brief, distant shot of a nude man lying face down); theological ambiguities requiring critical thought. Might be fine for thoughtful, mature teens.		:: Caveat Spectator: Action violence and battle mayhem; disturbing images; a childbirth scene (nothing explicit); brief sensuality; fleeting rear nudity (a brief, distant shot of a nude man lying face down); theological ambiguities requiring critical thought. Might be fine for thoughtful, mature teens.
Line 66:		Line 66:
	:: Aronofsky: We wanted the audience to understand how much it grieved the Creator’s heart to destroy his creation. And part of what grieved his heart, I believe, is that there was, say, an innocent baby who was born five minutes before the flood happened. Methuselah died in the flood. All those animals that didn’t get on the ark that were part of his creation [died too].		:: Aronofsky: We wanted the audience to understand how much it grieved the Creator’s heart to destroy his creation. And part of what grieved his heart, I believe, is that there was, say, an innocent baby who was born five minutes before the flood happened. Methuselah died in the flood. All those animals that didn’t get on the ark that were part of his creation [died too].

	:: Handel: The image a lot of people probably have of how God feels even toward anyone who’s wicked is that there’s love there. So there’s no question that killing all these people, whatever they may have been, had to be incredibly difficult. We wanted to feel that difficulty. It’s very easy to say, ~~â€œThese~~ are the bad guys; they should die. These are the good guys; they shouldn’t die.â€		:: Handel: The image a lot of people probably have of how God feels even toward anyone who’s wicked is that there’s love there. So there’s no question that killing all these people, whatever they may have been, had to be incredibly difficult. We wanted to feel that difficulty. It’s very easy to say, “These are the bad guys; they should die. These are the good guys; they shouldn’t die.â€

	:: Aronofsky: Noah’s a real human being in incredible circumstances, and through them, he becomes a prophet. And you identify with him. That’s my understanding of the Christ story: that he came down to experience life as a real man, and we can all identify with him.		:: Aronofsky: Noah’s a real human being in incredible circumstances, and through them, he becomes a prophet. And you identify with him. That’s my understanding of the Christ story: that he came down to experience life as a real man, and we can all identify with him.

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:16, 10 December 2022
Line 16:		Line 16:
	:: Russell Crowe, Emma Watson		:: Russell Crowe, Emma Watson

	:: "With a $125 million budget, the film is said to be more of an edgy action epic that depicts a man who fights off his enemies as he prepares for a coming apocalypse, rather than a story of a 'preacher of righteousness' who calls the world to repentance from sin."<ref>[http://christiannews.net/2013/11/17/new-noah-film-starring-russell-crowe-flooded-with-controversy/ "New ~~â€˜Noahâ€™~~ Film Starring Russell Crowe Flooded With Controversy."]</ref>		:: "With a $125 million budget, the film is said to be more of an edgy action epic that depicts a man who fights off his enemies as he prepares for a coming apocalypse, rather than a story of a 'preacher of righteousness' who calls the world to repentance from sin."<ref>[http://christiannews.net/2013/11/17/new-noah-film-starring-russell-crowe-flooded-with-controversy/ "New â€˜Noah’ Film Starring Russell Crowe Flooded With Controversy."]</ref>

	:: "A number of battle scenes are said to fill the film, which in some aspects are reminiscent of Gladiator. Six-armed angels, known as Watchers, are also introduced, 'who came down from Heaven to help fallen humanity by granting them wonders of knowledge from magic to science to stars, metal, and fire.'" <YUCK!>		:: "A number of battle scenes are said to fill the film, which in some aspects are reminiscent of Gladiator. Six-armed angels, known as Watchers, are also introduced, 'who came down from Heaven to help fallen humanity by granting them wonders of knowledge from magic to science to stars, metal, and fire.'" <YUCK!>

	:; [http://www.salon.com/2014/03/27/noah_aronofskys_deranged_biblical_action_flick/ â€œNoahâ€: ~~Aronofskyâ€™s~~ deranged biblical action flick."]		:; [http://www.salon.com/2014/03/27/noah_aronofskys_deranged_biblical_action_flick/ â€œNoahâ€: Aronofsky’s deranged biblical action flick."]

	:: Stone giants, battle scenes, a satanic antihero and Russell Crowe's vegan cult leader -- Aronofsky's nutso "Noah."		:: Stone giants, battle scenes, a satanic antihero and Russell Crowe's vegan cult leader -- Aronofsky's nutso "Noah."

	:: This mightily strange motion picture, however, is a classic Hollywood blend of ~~â€œdevilâ€™s~~ candyâ€ â€“ a major movie star, the control-freak auteur of â€œBlack Swan,â€ a budget reported at $130 million and one of the sketchiest episodes in the Abrahamic tradition, drawn from a few sentences in the Book of Genesis â€“ designed to please everyone and likely to please almost no one.		:: This mightily strange motion picture, however, is a classic Hollywood blend of â€œdevil’s candyâ€ â€“ a major movie star, the control-freak auteur of â€œBlack Swan,â€ a budget reported at $130 million and one of the sketchiest episodes in the Abrahamic tradition, drawn from a few sentences in the Book of Genesis â€“ designed to please everyone and likely to please almost no one.

	:: None of them is as interesting as the diabolical and charismatic Tubal-Cain (growly voiced Ray Winstone), king of the Cain faction, who vows to kill Noah and take that damn ark for himself if the promised great flood actually shows up. Tubal-Cain is a great character full of venal and crude humanity, part ~~Miltonâ€™s~~ Satan and part Nietzschean Superman, and is also 99 percent made up. (In the Bible he is described as a maker of â€œall kinds of bronze and iron tools.â€ ~~Thatâ€™s~~ it.)		:: None of them is as interesting as the diabolical and charismatic Tubal-Cain (growly voiced Ray Winstone), king of the Cain faction, who vows to kill Noah and take that damn ark for himself if the promised great flood actually shows up. Tubal-Cain is a great character full of venal and crude humanity, part Milton’s Satan and part Nietzschean Superman, and is also 99 percent made up. (In the Bible he is described as a maker of â€œall kinds of bronze and iron tools.â€ That’s it.)

	:: ~~Thereâ€™s~~ an extremely long-winded theological back story about how these guys are fallen angels who got coated in molten lava, and no, ~~Iâ€™m~~ not even kidding. Alert readers of the Bible will recognize them as the mysterious Nephilim, described in Genesis 6 as â€œsons of God â€¦ heroes that were of oldâ€ and the source of much exegetical agony.		:: There’s an extremely long-winded theological back story about how these guys are fallen angels who got coated in molten lava, and no, I’m not even kidding. Alert readers of the Bible will recognize them as the mysterious Nephilim, described in Genesis 6 as â€œsons of God â€¦ heroes that were of oldâ€ and the source of much exegetical agony.

	:: the word â€œGodâ€ is never used		:: the word â€œGodâ€ is never used
Line 38:		Line 38:
	== Greydanus ==		== Greydanus ==

	:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/noah-controversy/ "The ~~â€˜Noahâ€™~~ Movie Controversies: Questions and Answers."]		:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/noah-controversy/ "The â€˜Noah’ Movie Controversies: Questions and Answers."]

	:: While Noah is more righteous than his contemporaries (â€œrighteous in his generationâ€), he follows a disturbing course of action he believes to be ~~Godâ€™s~~ will. ~~Noahâ€™s~~ understanding of ~~Godâ€™s~~ will is not always clear, and for a key part of the story, he believes God wants him to do something appalling. While this is not contrary to the biblical text (and while God actually does command other people in Scripture to do similar things), some will not appreciate this disturbing portrait of Noah.		:: While Noah is more righteous than his contemporaries (â€œrighteous in his generationâ€), he follows a disturbing course of action he believes to be God’s will. Noah’s understanding of God’s will is not always clear, and for a key part of the story, he believes God wants him to do something appalling. While this is not contrary to the biblical text (and while God actually does command other people in Scripture to do similar things), some will not appreciate this disturbing portrait of Noah.

	:: Without getting into major spoilers, as the drama unfolds, the exact cast of characters on the ark is somewhat fuzzy. However, as my review notes, â€œin the end, the filmmakers can claim to have satisfied the text â€” just barely.â€ (Moderate spoiler warning: While on the ark, not all of ~~Noahâ€™s~~ three sons are married. However, the film has not forgotten their wives, or the ones they will marry.)		:: Without getting into major spoilers, as the drama unfolds, the exact cast of characters on the ark is somewhat fuzzy. However, as my review notes, â€œin the end, the filmmakers can claim to have satisfied the text â€” just barely.â€ (Moderate spoiler warning: While on the ark, not all of Noah’s three sons are married. However, the film has not forgotten their wives, or the ones they will marry.)

	:: The sole issue, if you can call it that, is that characters in Noah generally speak, not of â€œGod,â€ but of â€œthe Creator.â€ ~~Itâ€™s~~ hard to imagine anyone considering this controversial or problematic, but for some reason the claim that â€œGod is never mentionedâ€ in the film refuses to die â€” even though the Creator actually is referred to as â€œGodâ€ at least once, when Ham tells Tubal-cain, â€œMy father says there can be no king; the Creator is God.â€		:: The sole issue, if you can call it that, is that characters in Noah generally speak, not of â€œGod,â€ but of â€œthe Creator.â€ It’s hard to imagine anyone considering this controversial or problematic, but for some reason the claim that â€œGod is never mentionedâ€ in the film refuses to die â€” even though the Creator actually is referred to as â€œGodâ€ at least once, when Ham tells Tubal-cain, â€œMy father says there can be no king; the Creator is God.â€

	:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/sdg-reviews-noah "SDG Reviews ~~â€˜Noahâ€™~~."]		:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/sdg-reviews-noah "SDG Reviews â€˜Noah’."]

	:: Rocking the boat: The first major big-studio Bible film in decades is a provocative take on the venerable story of the Flood.		:: Rocking the boat: The first major big-studio Bible film in decades is a provocative take on the venerable story of the Flood.
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	:: It is not a â€œBible movieâ€ in the usual sense, with all the story beats predetermined by the text, and actors in ancient Near Eastern couture hitting their marks and saying all the expected things. It is something more vital, surprising and confounding: a work of art and imagination that makes this most familiar of tales strange and new: at times illuminating the text, at times stretching it to the breaking point, at times inviting cross-examination and critique.		:: It is not a â€œBible movieâ€ in the usual sense, with all the story beats predetermined by the text, and actors in ancient Near Eastern couture hitting their marks and saying all the expected things. It is something more vital, surprising and confounding: a work of art and imagination that makes this most familiar of tales strange and new: at times illuminating the text, at times stretching it to the breaking point, at times inviting cross-examination and critique.

	:: Have Aronofsky (raised with a Jewish education) and co-writer Ari Handel made a film ~~thatâ€™s~~ too religious for secular viewers and too secular for religious ones? Who is the audience?		:: Have Aronofsky (raised with a Jewish education) and co-writer Ari Handel made a film that’s too religious for secular viewers and too secular for religious ones? Who is the audience?

	:: Well, I am, to begin with. For a lifelong Bible geek and lover of movie-making and storytelling like me, Noah is a rare gift: a blend of epic spectacle, startling character drama and creative reworking of Scripture and other ancient Jewish and rabbinic writings. ~~Itâ€™s~~ a movie with much to look at, much to think about and much to feel; a movie to argue about, and argue with.		:: Well, I am, to begin with. For a lifelong Bible geek and lover of movie-making and storytelling like me, Noah is a rare gift: a blend of epic spectacle, startling character drama and creative reworking of Scripture and other ancient Jewish and rabbinic writings. It’s a movie with much to look at, much to think about and much to feel; a movie to argue about, and argue with.

	:: My main theological quarrel with Noah, and ~~itâ€™s~~ an important one, is nothing the filmmakers put in, but something they left out: ~~Genesisâ€™~~ clear vision of mankind as the pinnacle of ~~Godâ€™s~~ creative work. In Genesis 1, it is only after God creates man in his image that we get the summary benediction, â€œGod saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very goodâ€ (Genesis 1:31).		:: My main theological quarrel with Noah, and it’s an important one, is nothing the filmmakers put in, but something they left out: Genesis’ clear vision of mankind as the pinnacle of God’s creative work. In Genesis 1, it is only after God creates man in his image that we get the summary benediction, â€œGod saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very goodâ€ (Genesis 1:31).

	:: ~~Noahâ€™s~~ retelling alters this, with a ringing summary benediction of the glory and balance of creation (â€œa jewel in the ~~Creatorâ€™s~~ handâ€) coming before the creation of man. This gives man an ambiguous status in the narrative â€” particularly since Noah omits the words â€œin his image.â€		:: Noah’s retelling alters this, with a ringing summary benediction of the glory and balance of creation (â€œa jewel in the Creator’s handâ€) coming before the creation of man. This gives man an ambiguous status in the narrative â€” particularly since Noah omits the words â€œin his image.â€

	:: Caveat Spectator: Action violence and battle mayhem; disturbing images; a childbirth scene (nothing explicit); brief sensuality; fleeting rear nudity (a brief, distant shot of a nude man lying face down); theological ambiguities requiring critical thought. Might be fine for thoughtful, mature teens.		:: Caveat Spectator: Action violence and battle mayhem; disturbing images; a childbirth scene (nothing explicit); brief sensuality; fleeting rear nudity (a brief, distant shot of a nude man lying face down); theological ambiguities requiring critical thought. Might be fine for thoughtful, mature teens.

	:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/interview-darren-aronofsky-ari-handel "Daily News Interview: ~~â€˜Noahâ€™~~ Writer-Director Darren Aronofsky and Co-Writer Ari."]		:; [http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/interview-darren-aronofsky-ari-handel "Daily News Interview: â€˜Noah’ Writer-Director Darren Aronofsky and Co-Writer Ari."]

	:: Aronofsky: We wanted the audience to understand how much it grieved the ~~Creatorâ€™s~~ heart to destroy his creation. And part of what grieved his heart, I believe, is that there was, say, an innocent baby who was born five minutes before the flood happened. Methuselah died in the flood. All those animals that ~~didnâ€™t~~ get on the ark that were part of his creation [died too].		:: Aronofsky: We wanted the audience to understand how much it grieved the Creator’s heart to destroy his creation. And part of what grieved his heart, I believe, is that there was, say, an innocent baby who was born five minutes before the flood happened. Methuselah died in the flood. All those animals that didn’t get on the ark that were part of his creation [died too].

	:: Handel: The image a lot of people probably have of how God feels even toward anyone ~~whoâ€™s~~ wicked is that ~~thereâ€™s~~ love there. So ~~thereâ€™s~~ no question that killing all these people, whatever they may have been, had to be incredibly difficult. We wanted to feel that difficulty. ~~Itâ€™s~~ very easy to say, â€œThese are the bad guys; they should die. These are the good guys; they ~~shouldnâ€™t~~ die.â€		:: Handel: The image a lot of people probably have of how God feels even toward anyone who’s wicked is that there’s love there. So there’s no question that killing all these people, whatever they may have been, had to be incredibly difficult. We wanted to feel that difficulty. It’s very easy to say, â€œThese are the bad guys; they should die. These are the good guys; they shouldn’t die.â€

	:: Aronofsky: ~~Noahâ€™s~~ a real human being in incredible circumstances, and through them, he becomes a prophet. And you identify with him. ~~Thatâ€™s~~ my understanding of the Christ story: that he came down to experience life as a real man, and we can all identify with him.		:: Aronofsky: Noah’s a real human being in incredible circumstances, and through them, he becomes a prophet. And you identify with him. That’s my understanding of the Christ story: that he came down to experience life as a real man, and we can all identify with him.

	== My take ==		== My take ==

"Noah" (2014) movie review - Revision history

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