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The Worst Film Ever

A Major Disappointment

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

I was blown away with how great this movie was. It does not show all of Jesus' wonders, since it is through Mary's eyes, but, the actors chosen to do this movie are excellent at what they do. I highly recommend this to believers and non-believers alike, as it shows just how Mary felt and you feel a sense of love, faith, hope, and peace go through you as you see what Mary saw. A tear-jerker ending when Mary sees Jesus after his Resurrection, but a very happy one. I have never seen, nor will ever see, another like it. It does show John the Baptist's body after his beheading, and it does show blood when Jesus is hung on the cross and dies, but that is to be expected. I definitely can see that families are going to be able to see this, and, today, that is rare.

I found this a refreshing and thought-provoking interpretation of how Mary lived and what kind of a person she was. It was great to break the mold of the mousey, demure, glowing, silent waif. This Mary was a feisty activist without being harsh or stepping over the line. Also, it is feasible that she taught Jesus some of the stories he later told, so thinking about her shaping role as his mother was also intriguing. Of course, Jesus did have a mind of his own - God's mind - which Mary only shared in part, and I would have liked to have seen him stand more firmly on his own two feet and take more authority, during the picture. I also wonder about the healthiness of this very intimate, mutually-dependent mother-son relationship. It is not impossible that Mary was there at Jesus' baptism.... Lots to think about, from her perspective and the silence of the Bible on such matters. All in all, not a bad version of Christ's life, through Mary's eyes. Just wish Jesus and his disciples were stronger, as I feel the Gospels represent them.

Hard to know what to make of this. I'm inclined to say overall I didn't like it, but only because it doesn't sit right with me. Production wise its an earnest enough little affair, obviously trying to give Mary a bit more of the limelight here, in fact Pernilla August is downright excellent, just the right blend of strength and humility - she simply doesn't look like the mother of Jesus!Christian Bale emotes and gives us a hands-on Jesus, but the "know wot I mean" Brit accents (for me at least) totally sink it, Michael Mears as John the Baptist especially. OK so Robert Ryan's accent in KING OF KINGS was no closer the mark, but he had the presence to carry it off! Another problem, associating Christian Bale forever as Patrick Bateman in AMERICAN PSYCHO, the idea of him, of all people playing Jesus just doesn't cut it with me.OK KING OF KINGS was syrupy, Hollywoodesque, whatever you want to believe, but in the minds of little children throughout the world (and mine too if the truth be told), Jeffrey Hunter will be there waiting patiently for us in Heaven with outstretched arms, not Christopher Bale or any one of the other two dozen or so actors have taken up the cross in the name of acting.

"Mary, Mother of Jesus" is a TV-attempt that features actors so sincere and so powerfully moving that you almost wish that the movie would just get out of their way and let them act in the way they all know they can! Telling the life of Jesus (Christian Bale) through the eyes of Mary (played by Anakin Skywalker's mom in "Episode One," by the way), the film in itself is very fast-moving and very paper-thin. Unless the viewer is familiar with the biblical depiction of Christ, he or she will be unutterably lost in this account, since the scenes move so fast and it never leaves the watcher any time to really grasp what's going on. Jesus doesn't even begin his ministry until the last hour, and then, we barely get a look at his disciples and miracles before he is arrested and crucified. And his resurrection is so underplayed, it could have easily been straight from a bad episode of "Touched By An Angel." I don't know....As a Christian, I just feel thst my Savior deserves more than this.... The idea of the emphasis switching to Mary is nice, but couldn't they have stretched this out to a miniseries to make it a little more coherent?The film effectiveness, however, lies in the cast. Christian Bale is convincing as Christ, bravely presenting him as a Divine figure with love for everyone. He also presents a human side as well, emphasizing on his need to talk to God and his desire to be with his mother even though he knows he cannot. Bale has always been an underrated actor in my book, and his performance here is very nice, though rather underplayed, since he has little to work with. It would have been nicer to see more emphasis on Jesus in this....but nay, it isn't to be: This is a movie about Mary. Ah, Mary. Pernilla August is very nice as Mary as well, though a little innacurate. Due to the status of women back in the days of Christ, I doubt that she was such a daring revolutionary, and if she was, she wouldn't have strutted the fact around so much. I think she was just a normal, common girl who didn't seem worthy of God's selection....In this film, her assertiveness makes her the perfect, most likely choice. I would have rather seen played it the other way....It would have made a more interesting movie with her doubting herself, and then Jesus filling her, his own mother, with hope and he filled others with hope. But, once again, not enough time to establish this, and the lack of characterization bogs the film down....especially with an actress so promising for the part.Is it worth watching? For the performances, yes. However, as far as true emotion and power of the story goes, the viewer is better-off watching "Jesus of Nazareth."**1/2 out of ****