A New Movie: Paul, Apostle of Christ

Over a month ago I was blessed to get an early view of the new movie, Paul, Apostle of Christ. It is indeed wonderful — beautifully filmed and with a moving ending. It is not a simple retelling of the Acts of the Apostles; such films have already been made. Instead, it is a moving portrait of St. Paul (James Faulkner) and St. Luke (Jim Caviezel).

The setting is Rome during St. Paul’s last days. Great persecutions are underway, taking a heavy toll on the Christians there. The movie presents the humanness of these struggles, both individually and communally. It weaves many of Paul’s writings in, but not in an artificial way. It also depicts a personal dimension of Paul by developing certain painful memories he carried with him. While these memories are mentioned in Paul’s writings, their creative treatment in the movie leads to its powerful conclusion.

To avoid having to issue a “spoiler alert” I will not say any more about the movie, but I strongly encourage you to see it. Expect less of a retelling of Acts or a presentation of Paul’s writings and more of a treatment of Paul, Luke, and the early Christians, who endured so as to hand the faith on to us.

I've been reluctant to spend money on movies based on Biblical stories or characters after Noah (what an abomination), but when I learned Caviezel was producing this I was confident the movie would not portray Paul as a psycho.
I took my Mother and her friend yesterday, maybe there were 10 people there for matinee. Two ladies walked out when Paul was being flogged...would have liked to ask them why they left. There was awful imagery of Christian persecution, but that's an important part of the story. I did not feel it was excessive or dominated the movie.
Unlike the scourging in The Passion of Christ, which is the hardest part for me to watch, I also believe it was necessary to truly convey the suffering He endured for us.
So if you think Paul the Apostle of Christ is going to be only about his mission and teachings and not address what price there was to pay for what was then heresy, then stay away.
Overall, I thought the movie was well executed and effectively told the story of Paul's imprisonment and martyrdom in Rome.
I pray many believers see the movie so they might reaffirm their bond with Christ and His teaching.
I pray many non observant Christians see the movie so they might go back to church or open a Bible, or just get woke ;)
I pray many nonbelievers see the movie so they might learn something about Christ, the plight of early Christians (still happening all around the world -which i am sure they are oblivious to), and the devotion of those who willingly and freely followed even when it surely meant death.
I know,there's no chance these people will see this movie, but I will still hope.
Hosanna!

Saw it this past Friday. It is really being pushed by the Knights of Columbus, who were one of its major producers. If only 10% of Christians went to see the movie it would be a huge hit. By the way it’s an outstanding depiction of Paul’s last days, with Luke writing down his words.

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