A Post In Which I Ramble Aimlessly For a Bit and Then Come to a Stop

Or: Just a Few of My Thoughts About the Movie One Night With the King and Some Other Things

Actually, these are just my $0.02 and some other random thoughts after having rented that movie and watched it with my husband last night. Take it or leave it, like them or hate them, these are just some rambling thoughts as I search for something to blog about. I’m at an all-time low on blogability at the moment. I have lots of things I think about, but getting those thoughts into a blog post is just not happening for some reason. When I do find time to sit quietly and attempt to write a post, the blank screen sits there blinking at me in a rather taunting manner remaining depressingly blank while either someone starts crying, someone starts destroying our newly decorated Christmas tree (just how many times will I be saying, “No, no!” this Christmas season as I attempt to redirect our very determined, very stubborn, very curious 18-month-old??), someone needs me to check homework (I hate math! Don’t tell my son I said that, though, please?), someone needs me to intervene in a scuffle, or I’m just plain brain tired and don’t feel like thinking through my first drafts to get them presentable. I have a 2 ½ page post I wrote today that was a sort of rant about something I was thinking about, but it needs a lot of work to pare it down. Even then, it will probably stay a draft forever, I’m thinking. Whine, complain, blah, blah, blah. Smile!

But, for anyone who still cares, I did decide not to quit blogging completely. The thought crossed my mind there for a bit, but I finally decided I’ll just write when the ‘want to’ hits and not worry too much when it doesn’t.

What was I planning to write about in this post? Oh, yes, the movie we watched last night. See, I’m having the hardest time focusing right now. Anyway, I’m not a huge fan of movies based on Bible stories. Just not my favorite thing. And, though I know lots of people liked One Night With the King, I cannot say that I was all that impressed. As a movie in and of itself, it wasn’t too bad. Interesting story, intriguing sets and costumes, and the writers resisted the temptation to make it racy or raunchy. It was a clean, entertaining movie. And these days, that’s somewhat rare, so I appreciate that, for what it’s worth. But, I just have a hard time watching Hollywood re-enactments of Bible stories, because inevitably they will use much artistic license with the material. This movie was no exception. I kept finding myself saying, “Yeah, right. That’s just not how the Bible tells this story,” or, “Come on, that’s just not even close to the biblical account,” much to my husband’s amusement. I have a hard time staying quiet during movies, by the way. It’s a very annoying habit I have. I won’t go into all of my little gripes, but my biggest criticism is that Hadassah’s character was written as too modern and western in the way she interacted with the other characters and there were several liberties taken with the story line and motivations, but that’s to be expected of a Hollywood movie of this type I think, and really, I’d just rather read the actual account. And, a petty observation perhaps, but the blue eyeliner they used on Xerxes made him look just plain creepy weird. But, for the most part, it was an okay movie if you just watch it as a movie and don’t have the compulsion to compare it to the actual biblical account, which I kept finding myself compelled to do.

Just so you know, it isn’t just the Esther movie I’m not thrilled with. I haven’t watched The Passion of the Christ, either, for the same reasons. That and what I had read about some of the heavy Catholic overtones and some other convictions I have about Passion Plays in general. Actually, the year it came out in theaters, I got so irritated by the people at church telling me that I could not truly appreciate the crucifixion if I didn’t go see this movie that I stayed away. Hmmm, centuries of people who only had the written Gospel accounts of the crucifixion just didn’t know what they were missing without Mel Gibson’s movie? I think not. I knew someone who has a very sensitive disposition and she really didn’t want to go see that movie because she is uncomfortable with graphic depictions like we were being warned it was, but she felt she must go see it. In fact, some people kind of implied that those of us who were choosing not to see it were somehow not appreciating the sacrifice our Lord made because we chose not to see a movie.

A church we used to be members of years ago had a big Passion Play production every Easter, and I was in the choir. I sang in it several years and finally had to sit out the last several years we were there. I didn’t like that I saw the actor who played Jesus in my mind every time I prayed for months after the Passion Play. It was awful for me. I know many people heard the gospel during those productions and I knew some people who were saved after attending and hearing the message. I’m not saying I think it’s necessarily wrong to have those dramas, but for me it was problematic. It is just a little too close to the prohibition against graven images for me. I know that’s not everyone’s conviction, but it is mine.

So, anyway, I don’t really like movies made about Bible stories. It doesn’t bother me if other people like them, that’s fine. They just aren’t my cup of tea. One Night With the King was okay as far as movies go and very tame and tasteful by Hollywood standards and even entertaining to watch, but still I don’t think it’s one I’d go out of my way to recommend, though I can’t say I would discourage anyone from watching it, either. How’s that for ambivalence? And now I’m finished rambling for the evening.