Risen

The biblical account of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is given a new twist in this fictional tale centered on an ambitious Roman military tribune named Clavius (Joseph Fiennes), and his aide, Lucius (Tom Felton), who must try to explain what happened to Jesus (called by his Hebrew name: Yeshua) following Crucifixion, when the cadaver mysteriously disappeared from a sealed, guarded cave. Plagued by rumors of a risen Messiah and an imminent uprising in Jerusalem, the wily Roman prefect Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth) orders Clavius to assemble and question suspects, including the terrified Apostles: Peter (Stewart Scudamore), Bartholomew (Stephen Hagan), and Simon (Joe Manjón). Mary Magdalene (María Botto) chides Clavius, saying: “You look for something you will never find.” Cynical Clavius's beliefs are transformed not only by what he eventually learns but also by a celestial encounter with the risen Yeshua (M­āori actor Cliff Curtis), who performs a series of biblically-documented miracles, such as healing a deformed leper and conjuring a feast of fishes from the Sea of Galilee. Director Kevin Reynolds's Risen unfolds like a theological police procedural, and while biblical scholars may take issue with this altering of the revered narrative, this is a restrained and respectfully spiritual film that is clearly aimed at a faith-based audience. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by Patrick and Paul Aiello, “The Mystery of the Resurrection” making-of featurette (11 min.), the behind-the-scenes segments “Creating A.D. Jerusalem” (10 min.) and “Script to Screen” (4 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are deleted scenes (5 min.), “The Battle of the Zealots Deconstructed” production featurette (5 min.), and a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an interesting faith-based film.] (S. Granger)