In Travel to BethlehemAntonio Banderas becomes Herod, the king of Judea, who ordered the massacre of the innocents at the time of Jesus’ birth. And just in time for Christmas, the feature film tells the story of the arrival celebrated on December 25th in the form of a musical comedy.
The journey to Bethlehem, of course, includes the events before the birth of Christ, the journey of Mary and Joseph to the city where the young woman gave birth to her child. Directed by producer Adam Anders – whose dream was to set the birth of Christ into song – the feature is one of many films with religious connotations to be released in recent months… and years.
God, this superstar
Undoubtedly, Jesus attracts moviegoers. “Jesus Revolution,” which hit theaters last February with Kelsey Grammer in the credits and told the story of the 1960s California movement, was a success, grossing $53 million at the box office (almost as much as “The Whale.” by Darren Aronofsky). Brendan Fraser won an Oscar for a production budget of 15 million. And on the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an Internet user rating of… 99%, which is higher than Citizen Kane!
This is not the first time Jesus made a recipe. The Passion of the Christ (2004), directed by Mel Gibson – a devout Christian who insisted that the feature be in Aramaic, Hebrew and Latin – and whose gross of $612 million worldwide fulfilled the desires of moviegoers revealed watching films with strong religious connotations.
Fiona Palomo and Milo Mannheim as Mary and Joseph, the parents of Jesus, in the film “Journey to Bethlehem”, which will be released in cinemas on November 10, 2023. Photo provided by AFFIRM Films and Monarch Media
Small independent studios have therefore noticed the phenomenon, which has increased significantly over the decades. Last March, his only son told the story of Abraham and the sacrifice of his son Isaac. The film, shot for $250,000, grossed $12.2 million at the box office.
And what about “Sound of Freedom,” released in July and dealing with child trafficking, starring Jim Caviezel as a Homeland Security agent investigating pedophile rings? The Christian film, distributed by Angel Studios, the company behind His Only Son, is a thriller with a strong controversial overtone due to the falsehoods spread about child trafficking and grossed $242.6 million impressive success at the box office. Revenue… which places It is currently ranked as the 10th most profitable film of 2023 in North America, ahead of Indiana Jones and Dial of Destiny!
But what are “Christian films”?
The question is being discussed. David Helling, director of “His Only Son,” asked it on the Fox network with these words. “We have to be more critical. Just because a film has a title that includes the name of Christ, mentions the Bible, or is about God does not mean it is a Christian film.”
SO? Industry analysts agree that we need to talk about “films with religious connotations” because no matter what the theme is – whether biblical or contemporary – we will find typically Christian values. “Heaven is for Real” (2014), in which Greg Kinnear receives a message from God through his son’s voice, is a “Christian film,” as is “The Shack” (2017), in which Octavia Spencer plays God. And of course the quadrilogy “God’s Not Dead,” in which Kevin Sorbo turns into a sadly atheistic professor, is one of them.
As Jon Erwin, co-writer and director of Jesus Revolution, summarized to the British Telegraph: “We are here to entertain first and foremost. I want to make you laugh, I want to make you cry. But at its core lies a universal message of hope.
Journey to Bethlehem is in cinemas from November 10th.