20th Century Fox

PG 13 150 min

Winter and spring seem to be logical places for religious epics. We've got the two big ones, Christmas and Easter but this time it was nice to see our Jewish brethren grab a little bit of the theological spotlight with EXODUS.

There are various ways to treat religious epics on the screen. Recently NOAH accepted and almost Quentin Tarantino like disregard for the biblical story and changed it into science fiction. I do recall enjoying the musical version of EXODUS many years ago. This offering is more along the lines of the grand and majestic spectacle such as we've seen from Cecil B DE Mille and the like.

I'm sure your Rabbi or Minister has given you the outline of the story. Pharaoh, worried about an eventual uprising from his Hebrew slaves, decided to kill all the Hebrew boys at birth. Moses (Christian Bale) was hidden in a basket in the bulrushes of the river until he was found by an Egyptian and taken back to the palace to be raised as family. When his secret is discovered he is cast out into the wilderness where he will eventually be chosen by God to be His emissary to Pharaoh and eventually lead the Hebrews to freedom. Of course you remember the Egyptian king was reluctant to give up his slaves and suffered through 9 plagues before the last and most devastating, forced him to capitulate.

Now this is an epic complete with the finest of special effects available today which makes the depiction of the plagues really gruesome. If it were me I don't think I have gotten past the Locust before I let them go. Of course as we remember Pharaoh quickly has a change of heart and pursues the Hebrews right to the edge of the sea and...

Well I won't give away the ending.

MOSES truly is a spectacle from beginning to end. The acting is sound but it is secondary to the expansive vision. One of the time honored scenes involves Moses speaking with God through the burning bush. I thought they devised a very nice angle to that particular depiction, but I will let you see that for yourself.

Hanukkah and Christmas are very traditional holidays and Moses is a traditional holiday film for our generation.

(Am I the only one who thinks it's ironic that one of the world's most famous Hebrews was played by a guy named Christian?)

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