If there's one thing you learn from Paul, Apostle Of Christ it's how important scribes were back in the day. We meet James Faulkner as Paul the Apostle who did more than anyone else to spread the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth and to make permanent his church.
This film takes place toward the end of his life in 67 AD when Emperor Nero has set fire to the city of Rome and then cast the blame on a sect known as Christians. That part of the story can be seen in big budget Hollywood extravaganzas Quo Vadis and The Sign Of The Cross with some colorful Neros Peter Ustinov and Charles Laughton respectively.
Nero makes no appearance here, but we see the fear he's instilled in the Christians, the more so because their leader Paul is in a Roman prison with Prefect Olivier Martinez in charge. He's got other things on his mind such as a questioning wife and a sick daughter.
Faulkner as Paul is concerned about only one thing, that the story of his life get out while he can get it told. The telling he does is to Luke the physician, who besides healing as his profession requires is also a scribe. Luke is credited with writing his own gospel of Jesus and the Book of Acts telling of the lives and work of the disciples of Christ and others who spread the Word.
It's to Luke that Paul entrusts with getting out a final letter to Timothy over in Ephesus where the Christians have a somewhat thriving church. Luke has an additional mission to treat Olivier Martinez's daughter. It's the mingling of the missions that's the basis of this film.
Luke purportedly lived and died at a ripe old age essentially because he was entrusted as a scribe. For Paul and the rest of the Christian community they were scheduled to have all kinds of death with being lion lunch for most and a beheading for Paul.
This is a most reverential film and I'm in agreement with others a feeling of hopelessness prevails as regard to this life on earth. Jim Caviezel is a fine Luke and Faulkner is a stoic and spiritual Paul.
Special mention should go to Darryl Luke Vassallo playing a young Roman orphan whom the Christians take in. His martyrdom will make a Medusa shed a tear.
Paul, Apostle of Christ
2018
Action / Adventure / Biography / Drama / History
Paul, Apostle of Christ
2018
Action / Adventure / Biography / Drama / History
Plot summary
Roma, 67 AD. After the great fire that burnt a great part of the city, Emperor Nero points Paul, Jesus' apostle, as guilty of the fire, arresting him and taking him to Mamertine Prison. There prefect Mauritius struggles between his daughter Caelia, who suffers an unknown disease, and his job as warden of the prison commanded by own Nero, that he is considers as a failure on his military carrier. Despite the risks for the Christians, physician and medicine man Luke arrives Roma from Greek Islands to find Paul, living in the house of Aquila and Priscilla, two former Romans turned in Christians that they use their home as shelter for others Roman Christians to save them from Nero's soldiers, who kill all Christians they find, torturing and using them as human candles to light Roma's streets at night. After realizing that Paul is in Mamertine, Luke get access to the jail and he meets Paul, who accepts Luke's request to tell his biography to be known before he is executed by Nero, writing it in a new book about Gospel and Jesus' teachings. Meanwhile Luke writes detailing the beginnings of "The Way" and the birth of what will come to be known as the church, a bound on chains Paul fights the inner demons of his remembers as survivor of much-floggings, shipwreck, starvation, stoning, hunger and thirst, cold and exposure-yet, waiting for his appointment with death and haunted by the shadows of his violent past, wondering if he has been forgotten and if he has the strength to finish well. Mauritius, discovering Luke's intrusion, tries use it to earn Nero's favor in the belief that Paul will confess to be who burnt Roma. Intriguished by Luke, Mauritius permits more meetings between Luke and Paul to disgust of Mauritius' wife Irenica, who lives in eternal suffering by Caelia's ill. Due to the increase of violence by a young Christians looking for vengeance, Priscilla and Aquila doubt to leave Roma with the people saved or stay to save more Romans, at the same time that Luke's life and his efforts for the book endangers by Mauritius' ambitions. With time running out, Luke faces his destiny, that not only will changes everything around him, too around the world.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
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So my life has a bit of meaning to it
fractured
Emperor Nero burns down half of Rome and blames it on the Christians. He has the Apostle Paul imprisoned. He has Christians burned as Roman candles or sacrificed to the Roman circus. In 67AD, Greek Christian Luke (Jim Caviezel) secretly arrives in Rome to write down Paul's final testament. Mauritius Gallas leads the Roman persecutors as the Christian community splits on how to oppose their tormentors.
The story telling is too fractured for its own good. There is too much reliance on montages. Paul's flashback stories are disconnected from the narrative. The movie needs to put the persecution front and center. Although this is a movie about Paul, it must be led by Luke. Luke is the eyes of the audience. The movie needs better writing clarity.
Prefer the old Hollywood type biblical epics
Actually this well intentioned movie is a bit hard to follow. I prefer a more Hollywood version like Quo Vadis. Firstly, too much is filmed in darkness. The flashbacks are confusing.
It's not too horrific. The actual coliseum feeding of Christians to the Lions is not shown.
It's nice to see Joanne Whaley as Priscilla and James Caveziel as St Luke. Olivier Martinez speaks with a very strong French accent. It's hard to understand and not right for a Roman soldier. Should have been British or Italian.
Interesting for an accurate depiction of what happened but not as enjoyable as the old fashioned more inaccurate biblical epics like Quo Vadis and Ben Hur etc.