I sat down to watch director Timur
Bekmambetov’s (NIGHT WATCH, 2004, DAY WATCH,
2006) remake of the historical epic BEN-HUR (2016)
with little preconceived notions about the story. I’ve never seen the original
1959 version starring Charlton Heston, even with eleven Academy Awards under
its belt. It’s a badge of shame I hope someday to remove, now that I’ve seen
this version and enjoyed it a lot. I was impressed with the scope and authentic
feel of the film, among many other facets.
As an aside, I was struck that no
one in opening night crowd (and it was a pretty good crowd) was under the age
of forty. The name Ben-Hur mustn’t resonate with
young people. Too bad, it should.
Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston, AMERICAN
HUSTLE, 2013, OUTLANDER, 2008) is a privileged
Jewish prince during the Roman occupation of Israel in the early first century.
“Prince” meaning he is a member of the upper crust of Jewish society. He is
wealthy and lives in a spacious home with his parents, sister Tirzah, and
adopted brother Messala (Toby Kebbell, WARCRAFT,
2016, DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, 2014). Judah and
Messala are as close as any brothers could be, though Judah is high-born and
Messala the orphaned son of a Roman soldier taken in by the Ben-Hurs as a
child. Messala is treated, for the most part, as a regular member of the
family, but he never quite fits in.
The young men also have complicated
love lives. Judah’s sister Tirzah (Sofia Black-D’Elia, PROJECT
ALMANAC, 2015) and Messala are in love. He does not feel worthy of
her, so leaves to make a name for himself as a Roman soldier in order to stand
on his own reputation and accomplishments. Judah loves one of the family’s
servants, Esther (Nazanin Boniadi, HOMELANDTV
Series, IRON MAN, 2008). The filmmakers could have
elaborated a little on what Mom & Dad think of all this, but BEN-HUR isn’t
a three-and-a-half-hour epic like the 1959 film, so they simply smile a lot and
aren’t fazed by this. Besides, they’re rich, have good standing in Jewish
society, and aren’t overly burdened by the conquering Roman machine ruling over
everything.
The Romans are smart but brutal
rulers who deal diplomatically with the wealthy elite, but control the poorer
masses with violence and fear. Crimes are answered with brutal punishment,
especially death. Crucifixions are common. One group of Jews in particular has
been a thorn in the Romans’ side for years: the zealots. After hundreds of
years of oppression, the zealot rebellion has gained traction, using guerilla
tactics, hiding in shadows to attack roman soldiers and garrisons with quick
and violent results. To stem the rebellion, punishments have become more
severe. Oppression over the population is at its worst.
Why the history lesson? It’s what
this film is about, on the surface. BEN-HUR does a
good job showing this, albeit mostly from the perspective of the wealthy
population, who are the least affected group.
Judah knows what Rome is capable
of, so doesn’t make waves. Until the night his sister brings home a wounded
young zealot named Dismas (Moises Arias, ENDER’S GAME,
2013, and the HANNAH MONTANA TV Series). Judah
reluctantly helps the boy and takes him in until he’s recovered. He learns
about the Roman occupation from another perspective, and though he does not
condone their violence, he starts to understand a little better the why of
it all.
Messala returns home as a captain
of the Roman guard, held in high esteem by his compatriots, especially the
incoming governor Pontius Pilate (Pilou Asbaek, LUCY 2014).
Messala has been hardened from years of bloody warfare. Rome and its mission
means everything to him. His reunion with Judah is happy, but tense.
When the Dismas tries to kill
Pilate from the Ben-Hur rooftop, the entire family is arrested. Judah’s father
is killed, and though Judah pleads with Messala for mercy, his mother and
sister are arrested and given a death sentence, though his Esther escapes.
Judah is sentenced to a life of slavery aboard a Roman warship, where he will
spend years as a rower, below deck. Never knowing the fate of his family, he
spends these years sitting in the same seat, rowing and rowing, holding on to
his new-found hatred of his brother and the Romans, in order to survive.
With a PG-13 rating, depicting the
brutality of Roman occupation and the subsequent affliction of Judah Ben-Hur
was a far cry from the Gibson-esque bloodbath of THE PASSION OF THE
CHRIST (2004), but the filmmakers do a decent job. This is
especially true in the bowels of the Roman ship. It’s very claustrophobic, and
the eventual—and fateful—battle the ship finds itself in one day, viewed only
through cracks in the hull through which Judah can watch, is quite good and
frightening.
The tagline for BEN-HUR pretty
much tells the overall story arch: “Prince to Slave to Rebel.” When Judah
escapes slavery, he vows to learn what happened to his family and, more
importantly, seek revenge on Messala.
His view of his world began as
apathetic, not wanting to make waves, to live his life as comfortably as
possible. After his enslavement, hate drives him on. When he returns home, this
emotion is all he has left, even after finding Esther, who has spent the time
on the street helping people in need and becoming a follower of a man claiming
to be Messiah, Jesus.
What might come as a surprise to
some, Jesus plays a significant role throughout Judah Ben-Hur’s life, though
has far less emphasis in this current incarnation of the story than the blockbuster
1959 film, and much less than the original novel.
Like the previous films, including
a silent version in 1925, BEN-HUR is based on one of
the biggest selling novels in American history. Ben-Hur: A Tale of
the Christ, written by Lew Wallace, was published in 1880. I did some
research, and was surprised (since I’d never heard of it) that it was so
popular for its time and throughout the twentieth century. In fact, until Gone
with the Wind was released in 1936, it was the largest selling
book in America next to the Bible. Like its later adaptions, it intertwines the
fictional story of Judah Ben-Hur with the life, ministry, and death of Jesus.
The book itself opens with the Three Wise Men visiting baby Jesus when Judah
Ben-Hur is just a boy. Though Judah and Jesus do not grow up together, their
lives are forever entwined from that point on, and the book tells the story of
the Christ through the eyes of Judah. The 1959 film has more room, and I assume
more social acceptance of religious themes in movies, to delve deeper into the
Jesus storyline. In the 2016 version, Jesus appears in three significant
scenes. First, when Prince Judah gets into a debate with Esther about Roman
occupation. Jesus (played with silent intensity by Brazilian actor
Rodrigo Santoro, THE 33, 2015) is still a carpenter and
overhears their conversation. He interjects that God has a path for each of
them. And “if God is righteous, then we should do righteous things.” This
statement affects Esther, though Judah waves the comment off.
When Slave Judah is dragged through
the streets, bound and bloodied, Jesus gives him water. Very little is said,
but a connection is made, one that comes arounds much later in the film when
Jesus himself is dragged through the streets of Jerusalem. Though the intertwining
of these two storylines is somewhat downplayed, it is a critical component,
mostly as the film comes to a close. The reason being the underlying story
of BEN-HUR: how his view of violence changes over time.
From apathy, to hate and the need for revenge, to seeing another way. It’s
this other way which eventually is the redemptive
path he must find.
The big highlight of BEN-HUR is,
of course, the chariot race. If you’ve never seen the movie, or know little
about it, you still know that there’s a climactic chariot race somewhere in
there. The movie opens at the start of the race, with Judah and Messala
posturing with each other from their respective chariots before tearing out
onto the “circus,” a huge oval stadium built specifically for these deadly
competitions. That’s the teaser, before we are brought back seven years earlier
to tell the whole story.
I’d been enjoying the film up to
the race, but kept my enthusiasm in check until I was able to see how this
pivotal scene played out. Knowing how critical it is to the story, it had to be
good. And it was. In fact, it was amazing, full of all the
action and drama one would expect from a large scale epic. One aspect I thought
was well-done was the lack of CGI. Granted, they probably used a lot of
computer-generated effects. But there’s a good mix of live action blended in,
so one does not notice the special effects. A good comparison would be the
original LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy (2001-2003), which
used this mixed-effect technique so bloody well, and its prequel THE
HOBBIT (2012-2014) where the CGI was obvious and so prevalent it
was almost sad, especially in the final installment. The action and adrenaline
of the chariot race never fell into cheesy overkill, allowing the viewer to
truly enjoy the experience.
The sets and cinematography
throughout were gorgeous. I assume much of the film was shot in locations to
reflect ancient Israel, with effects used to compliment rather than overpower
the sets.
The acting was good as well, with a
cast culled from around the world. For example Ayelet Zurer (MUNICH,
2005, MAN OF STEEL, 2013), who plays Judah’s mother, is a
popular Israeli actress. Rodrigo Santoro (Jesus) is Brazilian. Danish actor
Pilou Asbaek portrays a unique, and much less sympathetic, Pontius Pilate than
is depicted in other films. From the home front, what story revolving around
God doesn’t have this man: Morgan Freeman (nearly every
movie ever made) as the wandering and wealthy Arab Sheik, Ilderim, who
takes on Judah as his chariot driver after convincing him that beating Messala
in the circus would be more satisfying revenge. With such a unique (and
unknown, to me, at least) cast, I wondered if Freeman’s star image and voice
might stand out (in a bad way), but he isn’t in this many movies because he
can’t act. His Ilderim is a strong side character and anti-hero.
To wrap this up, I need to throw in
some spoilers. If you don’t want to know how it
ends stop reading now and know I enjoyed the film,
with a couple of qualms about the ending.
Yes, some aspects of the ending
bothered me, and I’m guessing might have really irked other reviewers, since
general reception to BEN-HUR has been meh at
best.
The chariot race is the lynch pin
of Judah Ben-Hur’s tale, but it’s not the end. Moving from disinterest to rage,
there was one more change he needed to go through before out story was
finished.
Before the race, he discovers his
mother and sister are alive, rotting in a jail cell where they’ve contracted
leprosy and live in squalor. This only fuels Judah’s hate. After defeating
Messala in the circus and earning his freedom, Judah becomes involved in the
zealot movement. Esther has become an apostle of Jesus and is present in the
garden when he is arrested. Judah finds Jesus on the road, bloody and falling
under the weight of the cross. He gives him water, then grabs a rock to attack
the soldiers. Jesus stops him, calling him by name and explaining he does this
of his own free will. There is another way towards redemption besides violence.
Something about this moves Judah to later collapse at the foot of the cross
when Jesus dies as he understands letting go of hate, offering forgiveness to
others, is the only true path to redemption.
The phrase “something about this,”
however, is where I think this year’s BEN-HUR falls a
little short. His exposure to Jesus is scarce and scattered. Aside from one
moment of kindness, there was no connection between the two. Yes, Esther is a
pre-Christian follower, but his epiphany at the cross, as well-done and
dramatic as it was, seemed too much without cause. Even most of Jesus’s
disciples did not understand his teachings until three days later. Somehow,
Judah understands the basic tenants after three brief encounters during his
lifetime. The cause-effect would be more believable had there been more
interaction between them, aside from Esther. (Yet another reason for me to
check out the Heston version to see if they managed to accomplish this). At its
core, BEN-HUR is a spiritual movie, but you can’t
cram all religious elements into the last ten minutes!
Lastly, this may sound odd coming
from an optimist, but the final scene is too happy. As in the book and 1959
movie, Judah’s mother and sister are healed miraculously of their leprosy. In
the book, Jesus heals them at the side of the road before his arrest. In the
previous film, they were healed with Judah at the foot of the cross. Here, it
rains as Jesus dies and the rain leaks into their prison cell, and they are
cured. Of the three, being at the cross works best for the plot. But that’s not
my issue, really. In the very last scene, everyone reconciles with everyone
else (including Messala and Judah’s sister), and every face has a big smile.
The movie is somber and at times quite dark—so this many smiles at the end
simply does not work. Hollywood insists that every film end with the main
character smiling, to send the viewer home smiling, too (don’t believe me? Just
try not to notice it in every film going forward). The film’s predominantly
somber tone should have continued until the end, just more hopeful in tone. The
Hollywood Rule backfired here, big time.
My issues with the ending scenes
notwithstanding (unfortunately, these are what every viewer will leave
remembering the most), BEN-HUR is an excellent,
big-scale production and well worth the price of a ticket.
I give it three and a
half racing chariots.