Summary
Luke, newly arrived in Rome, where Christians are being hunted down and executed, seeks to bring the Apostle Paul’s story to the struggling church. One problem, Paul is imprisoned in a Roman Jail and suspicions of every Christian in the city are on the rise.
My Thoughts
I’m not going to say this movie is flawless or try to overly praise a film which is by typical film making standards, just a decent solidly made movie, but it is hard not to get excited when the vast majority of Christian films seem more like children’s books compared to the films which are produced by non Christian studios. Compared to the “Fireproofs” and “God’s Not Dead” of the world, "Paul, Apostle of Christ," is a masterpiece.
So what is it about "Paul, Apostle of Christ" (PAOC) that makes it stand out from most Christian Movies? I’m going to go into detail because I have gone into detail about Christian Film’s weaknesses in the past and I feel in order to be fair I must be equally detailed in relating it’s strengths.
Acting
Where most Christian Films seem to be acted by has been TV and movie stars, PAOC is solidly acted by currently working actors who are well regarded. Whether we are talking Jim Caviezel (“The Passion of the Christ”), who does a great job giving his character a different feel from the other biblical characters he has portrayed, James Faulkner (“Atomic Blonde”), who takes a break from "Game of Thrones" to portray the titular character, or Olivier Martinez (“Unfaithful”) who plays Mauritius, the Roman in charge of the prison where Paul is being held, every actor is bringing their A game to what, I think most honest people would call, a challenging historical period to play well.
By bringing in actors of a high caliber to be in a film with a well written script, the filmmakers ensured that difficult concepts and mixed character emotions would be tackled competently and seriously.
When Christian Studios hire actors who are past their prime or greenlight poorly written scripts, they subtly signal those actors that they don't need to take the film seriously. Actors who normally could turn in great performances end up overacting or phoning it in.
They don't do this because they don't care about the film. They do it because they don't want to be the only one who cares about the quality of the film they are in.
Dialogue
The plot of PAOC isn't just important in order to keep the cast invested, it's important to keep the audience invested. One of the most egregious sins of most Christian Films is characters who don't behave like or talk like actual Christians. I will never understand this tendency.
You would never think a film which is written by Christians, specifically marketed toward Christians and needs a huge turnout from that target demo in order to be profitable, would also have the most unrealistic dialogue, prayers, and motivations for its Christian characters, but time and time again, in typical Christian movies, that is not the case. Films like "Do You Believe," and "Risen," are full of 'Christian' characters who don't talk anything like Christians, don't pray like Christians, and don't seem to have any realistic Christian motivations.
But with PAOC, those typical mistakes are deftly avoided. Every character feels like they step right out of the year 67 AD. They fear and doubt but also have faith. Their prayers sound like they are heartfelt and the way they preach or talk to non-believers feels very authentic to the time period.
This is also helped by production design which doesn't feel stagey or styrofoam. You won't catch any of these character wearing anything that looks like a bathrobe, or see anyone drinking water from anything other than a period looking mug. No one slides a stone block away with ease to reveal a hidden passage, and no one is bleeding red corn syrup. For once a biblical film feels like the city it is set in is a real city, full of real people.
Theme
Many times Christian movies, while successful with Christians, don't accurately portray the Christian life. They will focus on some moralization of a Christian ethic rather than on the uncomfortable tension that exists with the faith.
Characters will sin then struggle to believe God. Then they will trust Him, and their marriages will be fixed, their loved ones be healed or even resurrected, or they'll end up with a better Christian version of their old girl friend (I didn't make any of those up.) The message of these films seems to always be, 'Have Faith and God will grant you some form of the American Dream.'
This is NOT Christianity. It is American secularism being syncretized into the church.
PAOC resists this syncretism and presents us with the actual struggles of the faith; a faith that demands much from us that is 'unnatural.' It takes faith to not lift your hand against the one who harms you. It takes real effort to not resist when led to lions. It takes love to not run from the city that needs you when you are threatened.
These are the struggles of this film. Not, 'Will I get a passing grade from my atheist professor?" but 'will I stay true to Christ, though he doesn't deliver me from prison?' 'Am I willing to die today for another?' '
Weaknesses
Unfortunately, no movie is without its shortcomings and this film is no exception. While I would say its faults are minor, some critics see them as more problematic.
The film is a little slow. Normally I forgive a film its slow pacing if it is done intentionally or with a cinematic flare. This film, sadly, does not have much in the way of cinematic flare, and while the film is deliberate at times, there are others where the slow pacing seems to be less about the intention of the director for the audience to dwell upon the subject and more about having characters telling the audience how to feel about the subject.
I honestly believe critics are making a mountain out of a mole hill with this one though. Readers will know that I am no excuser of bad Christian cinema. When it's bad, it's bad. However, many critics know that they can pile onto a Christian film and few people will disagree with them, and even fewer have a real voice with which to disagree with them.
Verdict
This is a really good Christian film.
For those of you who struggle to find a Christian Film that you can point to as a good example of decent Christian filmmaking that rises above the trite moralism and flighty Christian fare which normally lined the shelves of the now defunct Family Christian Stores, your wait is over.
However, this is a CHRISTIAN film. Audiences should not expect their non-Christian friends to love it. Critics have correctly pointed out that this film is hardly palatable to anyone not in the church. They see this as a downfall of the film when it is actually one of its best qualities.
It is no criticism of a Quentin Tarantino movie, a Pixar film, or a Reese Witherspoon RomCom, to say that it is for a specific audience. Why should a Christian audience be any different?
It's not, and this film is perfect for them.
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