I put out a challenge for those who got upset by Noah to give as much weight as to what they thought about that movie as to the other movies with a Christian/Biblical theme that are out or will be coming out. In particularly Heaven is for real, God’s not dead, Son of God. A friend of mine lovingly challenged me to watch all 4, and so I’m in the process of doing that.
I’ve seen Noah and God’s Not Dead so far, but will see the other 2 in due time. I’m not a professional movie reviewer, so I’ll just be pointing out what I observed and picked up and out of the movies. And “2 Litas” – Litas is the currency of Lithuania, my father’s country of origin, and I would be lying if I stated I like that country despite not having gone there…yet.
So, here’s my take on Noah…enjoy, or don’t, but hey- my blog my rules! 😉
P.S. I will be looking at the movie as a movie. I’m going to give my insight and thoughts, what I liked and what I didn’t like, but I’m not necessarily going to be making about the validity of the director’s vision whether or not it is “accurate” or not. Sure I have some issues with movies, but again, it’s a movie and not the be-all end-all to discussions theological, biblical, or other.
Noah
I like how the movie incorporated “The Watchers” and perhaps to some extent they symbolized the much talked about but not understood as to what they truly were- The Nephilim. From what little I know they were some angel-human hybrid group of beings that remain a mystery, or at least to me. I kind of liked the stone figures having human-like characteristics, that while apart from humanity they were still in touch with their humanity and even the part of them that gave them life, and even the nature of their role within the movie and them going back to whence they came under good terms.
I also liked the movie for using “The Creator” in place of God because it is a term I can and do to some extent identify with, especially that God as creator suggests activity, dynamic not static, creator creating rather a creator who created…and kind of got up and left what God had created. It also invites us in to partake in creating as well, and in the movie there were instances in which Noah and his immediate family were in the business of creating as well.
Side note: I have seen several Darren Aronofsky’s movies and one of his trademarks is in this movie. The quick sequential shots to explain time moving quickly, this shows up when Noah explains the creation narrative, and what makes it so good in this movie is that it explains creation and evolution entwined and ONE! It was beautifully done, and while I will probably see this movie again, but back to this semblance of a movie review…
I liked the overarching yin and yang of humanity. Noah wasn’t an altogether good guy, nor was Tubal-cain an altogether bad guy, and that is very human and very true. Yes God/The Creator was also balanced out in this way, and yes I disagree with the portrayal of a God that’s out to get humanity and angry and retaliatory on human terms. God is made small when he is bent out of shape by things we get bent out of shape over, and yet I believe he is allowed to be God when we allow him to be, when he loves unconditionally and extends grace to all of humanity. That is the God I choose to follow because God is bigger than me and all of what I think and hold true.
There was disarray, redemption, restoration weaved throughout this movie’s narrative. All in all a very good movie.
~Nathanael~
Nathanael Vitkus 
Excellent review, minus major spoilers! I had no plans of seeing it but I’ve heard some weird things that have sparked my interest and there’s something about the bit with Emma Watson that looks like a love story on the side…? For some reason, this intrigues me.
Just watched this film last night and I honestly can’t understand what some people have their panties in a bunch over. Was it true to every word in the Bible or Koran? Of course not… it is an entertainment. But it did seem to capture the underlying themes very well and I did find Russell Crowe’s Noah to be a very believable, devout prophet. That creation narrative was very well done and I, too, noticed how they incorporated evolution while avoiding the “humans from monkeys” conflict…
Good points all around Chris. I think that sometimes Christians hold the Bible in a place that is higher, dare I say, than God? Personally I don’t believe in a flood, or at least in the sense of a global all-things-are-wiped out kind of flood. A lot of narratives from the people groups back then had similar stories to explain some things, and honestly if it’s not true in the Western sense of truth, I’m not bothered in the slightest.
Yes, the quick shots / stop motion to convey movement, classic Aronofsky trademark. I did like how it weaved the creation narrative and evolution together into a very neat visual tapestry.
What I would really like to understand is to get into the mind of people who are Biblical literalists, to really understand what it would mean to them if portions of the Bible were not literally true but were allegorical. It seems that it wouldn’t undermine their faith at all, but I guess for some people, it is critical that there is something black and white in which to believe.
I think at times Biblical literalists have created a framework of bifurcation when it comes to the Bible; that either you believe ALL of it or NONE of it. Unfortunately, that’s a self-imposed framework, it was never written in that way.
Here’s a good video that kind of unpackages some of that – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BP1PpDyDCw
Thanks for sharing the link to the video.
You’re welcome.