Son Of Man

Provoking and Powerful
This is a powerful, modern-day, retelling of the Gospel story, most notably, Mark's Gospel, or at least the critical version of Mark's Gospel.

The setting is a modern-day nation in Africa (although the place names are biblical), in which the land is covered in war, strife, tribalism, and sectarianism. Opening with Mary being chased by rapists and war criminals, the beauty of the film first erupts as she sings the Magnificant after meeting an angel. Traveling ahead to the full-grown man, this Jesus is a young African with a group of friends, living in the decay of an occupied civilization.

It is subtitled, and the conversation sparse enough to keep up, but it is enticing, pulling you in as the Gospel story is retold in a Liberationist voice. Vibrant colors are used, but matched by the darkness of Satan in a manner which you may not suspect. As the film rushes to its conclusion, the viewer picks up the finer details and remembers major points of the Gospel story...

In All Countries, All Centuries
When I first read the text on the back of the DVD case, I thought, "If it's going to be the story of Jesus in southern Africa, I hope there's lots of singing".

Hey, I've known about the majesty of South African music since I was five years old, listening to my parents' Pete Seeger concert album.

The writers did an excellent job of translating the story of Jesus into a modern African setting, where people live in shantytowns and watch big-city life on television, where new governments promise democracy and deliver the same oppression, where people "disappear" and it takes courage simply to demand that a person's death be acknowledged. They succeeded in part, of course, because the story of Jesus really is universal.

Some years ago, I was contemplating the name of a group whose meeting I had attended the day before, the Religious Society of the Friends of Christ. I was wondering whether I ought to be among them, whether I was entitled to. After all, I...

different
Depending on how serious you are about these things i'd say it was at least worth watching , just to get another spin on leading roles ,casting, etc.

Click to Editorial Reviews