Biblical Studies Carnival - Best of 2006

Further to my post last week regarding the Biblical Studies Carnivals, I'm pleased to announce that Tyler Williams has announced the Best of 2006 Carnival at his Codex blog. There are plenty of interesting-sounding posts, that I somehow missed the first time, and as blog articles go, there are A LOT of links and so on in that one particular piece.

"Jesus Beyond his Genre" - Excerpts up at Image Facts

Back in April, I mentioned my friend Mike Leary’s paper to be delivered at the (then) up and coming SBL conference in November. Not being a member of the SBL I didn’t make the conference itself, but I was pleased to read on his Ekthesis blog that not only does he plan to have it in print sometime soon, but also that he’s posted a few excerpts three of the films he covered at his Image Facts blog.

The first film is Gus Van Sant’s Last Days (2005). I watched this fairly recently and I have to say I was disappointed. I've read a few of the things Mike has to say about this film, but I just didn't see them personally. The visuals, it has to be said, are incredibly beautiful, but it just didn't engage me as a whole, despite loving one of Van Sant's other recent films Elephant.

Mike also discusses La Vie de Jesus (1997) by Bruno Dumont. I've never actually seen this, but Mike's comments are fascinating, and have certainly made me want to catch it sometime. Essentially he (and Dumont) argue that the title of the film invites viewers to comment on the absence of Jesus throughout it.

Last of all we come to Robert Bresson's Au Hasard Balthazar (1966). Bresson austere style gets some getting used to, but once one puts in the time and effort it is well worth it. Au Hasard Balthazar is possibly his most often discussed film - at least in discussions about faith and film - for it's donkey-as-Christ-figure motif. One notable commentary is in Lloyd Baugh's Imaging the Divine where he calls the film "an exceptional Christ-Figure".

When I find out publication details about this paper I'll post them here, either in the comments on this post, or in a new one. Mike is only one of a number of bibliobloggers who have posted their thoughts on this year’s SBL. Worth reading are the considerable number of posts by Mark Goodacre, (who I will never think of in quite the same light after seeing this photo which he posted on his blog last week).

Cammina, Cammina (Keep Walking - 1982)

Having received a copy of Ermanno Olmi's Cammina, Cammina for Christmas, I thought it would be good to review it on the traditional, but increasingly forgotten, Twelfth Day of Christmas – Epiphany.

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There have been relatively few films made about the nativity, and nearly all of those that have been made tell the story from the perspective of Mary and Joseph. Cammina, Cammina is in many ways the perfect Epiphany movie as it moves Mary and Joseph to the sidelines, and focuses instead on the longer and even more perilous journey made by the wise men. In doing so it is able to examine the nativity story in general as well as the idea of pilgrimage with far more depth. Its flawed and ordinary protagonists make the piece far less deferential than most of the standard treatments of the story.

Indeed ideas of journey and pilgrimage are so dominant that film has run for two hours before any of Matthew's story is covered. Were someone without a TV guide to stumble across this film one night just after it began, they could watch for around two-thirds of the film without knowing which story it was portraying. Unusually, that might actually be the best way to view the film. It would certainly give the viewer a greater affinity with the film's protagonists – unsure of what they let themselves in for and ultimately arriving at a nativity scene that is so incredibly low key that it is something of an anti-climax.

Certainly the pilgrims are unsure what to make of what they discover. Olmi manages to create an atmosphere which definitely suggests that something special has occurred, yet at the same time it appears utterly unremarkable. The desperate poverty of the holy couple, and their lowly stable is somewhat tempered by the poverty of the pilgrims themselves.

In the bible, Luke's account of the shepherds visiting Jesus comes complete with a full angelic visitation. Matthew's account of the magi is far sparser (vivid dreams aside), and Olmi visualises this perfectly. The people find what they have travelled to find, and yet, when they do, they are uncertain about what exactly they have found. Ultimately, they accept that they have found what they were searching for, simply because all the clues they have had seem to point that way. But they are more than a little unsure that it all adds up. Released just three short years after Life of Brian which began with three over eager magi barging into the wrong stable, Cammina, Cammina shows us the other side of the same coin, albeit it in a more reserved fashion.

Traditionally, of course, this unspecified number of magi, has been pictured as three wise men, or even kings. Olmi sticks with this tradition, deftly combining the wise men / kings traditions by portraying Jesus's visitors as wise men who are represent their respective kings. They even wear crowns on more formal occasions as a sign that they carry their kings' authority. Moreover, these three travellers are each accompanied by a sizeable entourage. Some have come because they have little choice in the matter, others because they have seen the star and want to meet the person who it honours.

This is quite a different portrayal than the recent movie The Nativity Story. There the magi, who are largely present for comic relief, travel alone, and are friends and colleagues long before they see the star. In contrast, this film depicts the magi as meeting up for the first time relatively late on in the film, having solely followed Mel(chior) and his party for the first couple of hours. This enables the character of Mel to be put under the microscope and fleshed out, and it is this that gives the film much of its interest. We are in his presence long enough to get a really good understanding of his character, his passion, his devotion, the things that make him tick, his strengths and flaws. Mel is a man deeply routed in the Jewish tradition, frequently breaking out into a citation from the Hebrew bible. He is so well respected by his people, that many of them follow him when he announces that he is going to find the king who is represented by this new star.

At the same time he also has his flaws. Despite being so immersed in the scriptures he is stuck for ideas when the caravan fails to find the new born king in Jerusalem. It is one of the younger women who suggest going to "Bethlehem". He is deeply disappointed by the scene he finds there. Whilst he is sharp enough to spot that soldiers might attack the village, and warns the other magi, he fails to tell Mary and Joseph. Later on, one of his followers hands a stinging rebuke both for not staying to defend them, and for hanging on to part of an offering that the people had taken earlier.

As the film ends it grows more and more deeply ambiguous. It is unclear whether or not Mel did the right thing. It is perhaps unlikely his people could have defended themselves against the soldiers, yet the closing scenes, which show the adults of Bethlehem lying murdered as well as the infants, is, nevertheless, fairly damning. Unlike most versions of the nativity we do not even know for certain that the new family has escaped. In fact given that the village is never named, it is not even certain that this is Mary and Joseph. Strangely the only quote from one of the gospels is from the Gospel of Thomas. ("Lift a stone and you will find me, divide a log and I will be there")

The film ends with Mel's party arriving back, joyously, at their home town. The brevity with which the return journey is dealt with is in stark contrast with the lengthy portrayal of the outward journey. As noted above this forms this body of the film. Whilst initially the events that occur on the way appear quite random, in fact, they all reflect various stories related to Jesus.

So we see a shepherd lead his sheep through the camp (the Good Shepherd). We see a wedding party (reminiscent both of parables about wedding feasts, and of John's metaphor for the church – the bride of Christ). We see his followers drift off the path or land on rocky ground like the seed in the parable of the sower. We see a rich man who has brought all his belongings with him, and is unwilling to risk them to see Jesus. Finally we see those unable to follow the narrow way. On top of this the images of the people trailing after their leader through the desert is strongly reminiscent of Moses and the people of Israel.

Hence whilst the film portrays the pilgrimage of Mel and those that follow him to their destination, their journey reflects the challenges all believers face on their own, spiritual journeys.

Biblical Studies Carnival XIII

I'm not usually a great one for New Year's resolutions. Generally I reckon it's better to make a change as soon as you see the need for one, rather than wait until an arbitrary point in the year and make changes then. That said, in recent years my stance has softened slightly. In fact last year my resolution was to start this blog, and thankfully it was one I kept. This year, I've toyed with a few ideas, but the one I'd been mulling over for a while was to mention the Biblical Studies Carnivals on my blog.

I've been a fan of the carnivals since they first (re-)appeared on Tyler Williams' Codex Blog back in February, but I avoided posting about them figuring that, firstly, I didn't have that many regular readers, and secondly, that most of them either read it somewhere else anyway (like Codex or NT Gateway), or they weren't that interested.

I still reckon those assumptions are not that far off, but my readership has increased a bit recently. More importantly, I realised it was probably a bit rude to be part of the biblioblogging "community", but not really participate in their most significant and regular endeavour. So from here on in I'll be blogging the Biblical Studies Carnivals, and making some nominations too.

That was all decided in the run up to Christmas, so I was particularly pleased to see that this blog has received its first mention in the carnivals in the latest edition. (Nice timing!) Tyler's done a great job of compiling a myriad of entries, so here is January 2007's Biblical Studies Carnival

Book Review - The Nativity Story - Contemplating Mary's Journeys of Faith.

Whilst the stories about the birth of Jesus are celebrated by Christians of all denominations, the Roman Catholic church has a particular affinity with them due to the special prominence they give to Jesus's mother, Mary. Thus many Roman Catholic believers, particularly women, have spent much time contemplating her story, and, more importantly, her faith. It is fitting then that a collection of essays by different authors outlining some of their own reflections on Mary has been put together to accompany the film The Nativity Story. Such a compilation is hardly novel, I'm sure many similar works have been created celebrating Mary's faith, but this books link to the movie is something new. And for those of a Catholic persuasion, it's a rather good idea, putting a fresh twist on a much loved, time honoured, practice. The Nativity Story will undoubtedly encourage Christians of all persuasions to consider the faith of Mary afresh, and one would expect that this book would be able to facilitate exactly that.

That said, other than the front cover, the photographs that introduce each chapter and the introduction by Sister Rose Pacatte, the book doesn't have a great deal to do with the actual film. Hardly any of the essayists even mention the film. (It is, of course, fairly well known that the film was rushed through production in less than a year, suggesting that publication dates which would be incredibly tight. It would seem likely then that few of the authors would have even seen the film at the time of their writing). That's not a criticism of the book as such. It had a clear remit, which it fulfils well, but potential buyers should be clear that this book does not really contain any analysis of the film itself.

The 11 essays look at a number of the different facets of Mary's spiritual journey. Indeed the title of each essay begins "Mary's Journey of/to…" and they take the reader through such topics as faith, love, surrender, fear and doubt, and everyday life. The first page of each chapter has a photo from the film, before giving a brief biography of the author. The essays start with a section of one of the gospel accounts before 10 or so page mix of commentary, story, reflections on the author's own life, and relevant anecdotes. Each chapter concludes with a number of questions "To Ponder".

Overall the various chapters make fairly interesting reading for a lay audience, with some insightful comments about the story and what we can learn about life through reflecting on it. Judith Ann Zielinski's essay "Mary's Journey to Elizabeth" was a personal highlight. Rose Pacatte's introduction also contains a couple of interesting points such as a quote from André Bazin. That said, much of it is common to her other Pauline Books and Media publication on The Nativity Story, "A Film Study Guide for Catholics".

One of the difficulties about compiling a book like this is avoiding too much common material. Overall the book does this reasonably well, although there are a few times that it repeats particular details that ideally should have been edited out. It becomes a little tiresome, for example, to be informed a number of times that Mary could possibly faced being stoned.

Those who found The Nativity Story inspired them to find out more about Mary will enjoy this book. The relatively brief chapters (approx. 10 pages), and simple language will mean even reasonably young teens will find it readable. As teenagers are perhaps the age group most likely to be inspired by this film's portrayal in particular, then this is certainly a good thing. It is, of course, difficult for a male, 30-something, British, non-Catholic male reviewer to really know the impact a particular book could have on the average teenage Catholic girl. Perhaps what we would have in common would be our relative inexperience at learning from Mary. This book and the film helped me in that respect, and I at least suspect that it will help many others too.

News of More Forthcoming Bible Films

What has Queen Spoo been up to now there's little left to blog about regarding The Nativity Story? Digging out some info on more bible story based films, that's what. These are all at the early stages, but there's news of another film about David being written by J. Michael Straczynski, and, Darren Aronofsky is also developing a bible film (although he's not saying what it is just yet). More details from Spoo and also Peter Chattaway. Spoo also a release date for The Resurrection - February 2008.

Similarities Between The Nativity Story and Joseph of Nazareth

I saw The Nativity Story back in November. The night before I watched the Bible Collection's Joseph of Nazareth from the "Close to Jesus" series. Watching the two films in such close proximity I was struck by a number of similarities between the two films and I've been meaning to post something on this ever since.

It is of course only natural that there will be some similarities between the two films as the cover the same incidents (the birth of Jesus) using the same narrative strategy (harmonising the two differing accounts), setting (first century Palestine), and approach (attempting to be historically accurate). But there are also a number of similarities which were quite striking watching the two films in such close proximity. I'll summarise these as a list first of all, and then add a few comments.

• Both films depict Herod as a builder, taking a hands on approach to his building projects.
  
• Both films note how Herod killed two of his sons for plotting against him (even though these events occurred well before the birth of Jesus)
  
• Mary's parents (Joaquim and Anna) feature fairly prominently in both films.
  
• Both films make a point of stressing that Mary and Joseph will not be able to consummate their relationship for a year after their initial betrothal. Both times it's inserted into the dialogue quite awkwardly.
  
• In Joseph of Nazareth Elizabeth knows that Mary is pregnant without being told, and Mary responds by saying "how did you know"? The Nativity Story this is repeated and Mary's response is almost identical "how could you know"?
  
• In both films Joseph finds out that Mary is pregnant after her visit to Elizabeth.
  
• Both films have Joseph carefully checking with Mary that a soldier hasn't raped her.
  
• Neither film has Mary gaining any assistance from other women during the birth
  
• In Matthew, Herod only becomes aware of, and concerned by, the birth of a messiah from Bethlehem after the visit of the Magi. Both films show it as a known concern well before the Magi visit.
  
• Both films prefigure Jesus clearing the temple. In Joseph of Nazareth, Joseph and Jesus are both equally disappointed by the state of the money changers etc. they find in the temple when Jesus visits at the age of 12. In The Nativity Story the comment is made by Joseph alone.
  
• Neither film shows the host of heaven appearing to the Shepherds. In The Nativity Story there is only a solitary angel. In Joseph of Nazareth we see only their reaction.
  
• Neither film includes Jesus's circumcision in Jerusalem, nor the presence of Simeon and Anna.

Now, as mentioned above, a number of these similarities would be expected, particularly as there is a great deal of tradition about Mary's parents, or the "three wise men". The attempts at historical accuracy might even go someway to explaining why the same additional details about Herod are included, even though they require the true timescale to be compressed to accommodate this.

Yet there are also a number of similarities which would be far less expected. Mary's almost identical response to Elizabeth, the awkward explanatory insertion regarding the "year's wait" before marriage is completed, questions about being attacked, or forced, and the comments about the temple (and these are gained from a single viewing of The Nativity Story.

Furthermore, the characterisations in the two films are all very similar. Herod and his son, Joaquim, Elizabeth, Joseph, the magi. Interestingly, it is the character of Mary, where there is actually the most biblical material, where the divergence is greatest. That said consider how similarly Joseph's discovery of the pregnancy is played. Mary and Joseph are reunited after a long time apart, Joseph finds out through someone else's reaction. Mary says very little whilst Joseph cross-examines her, raises the possibility of rape, and the options for divorce are laid out. Joseph goes off to gain advice, but finds himself accused. Mary remains steadfast about her innocence. Once he has had his dream, however, he is then overjoyed when God explains to him in a dream.

Yet consider the potential variations even given the self-imposed restriction of sticking to the biblical text. Mary could have told Joseph before she went away, or she could have outlined clearly what happened more actively, or her father could have (and no doubt would have) been the one to do the explaining. Joseph may not have needed to have options laid out for him by a Rabbi. Mary's assurance could have been shaken by this incident, Joseph may have been less than happy with his own role.

Some scriptwriters like to examine other version of the story they are about to write, others avoid them like the plague lest they interfere with their creative vision. I never had the chance to interview Mike Rich, but I would love to have asked him what his approach is, and if he had seen Joseph of Nazareth. Some of the similarities are quite striking.