The Story of Jesus For Children

Rating:
Summary: A Classic Film Remade for Kids
Review: Once upon a time, 1979 to be exact, a film on the life of Jesus was released to theatres. Called, simply, "Jesus" it had been filmed on location in the Holy Land with input from hundreds of biblical scholars and with a script that very closely followed the Gospel of Luke. Today, this film holds the distinction of being the most viewed film of all time, having been translated into 758 languages with an estimated audience of over 4 billion and over 34 million video tapes, DVDs and VCDs of the film in circulation.

With that background, let's look at the "Jesus for Children" edition of the film. In one sense, this film departs from the premise of the original- to present an accurate portrayal of the story of Jesus as found in the Gospel of Luke with little embellishment. Instead of the straight scriptural story, this is the story of five children (Benjamin, Caleb, Sarah, Joel, Leah and Nathan) living in Jerusalem during the time of Jesus' ministry. They have been hearing strange stories about the man that some call a prophet and some call crazy, and they argue among themselves as to what is the truth. They follow Jesus from place to place, reporting on the miracles he is performing and the stories about him that people are telling.

All of the footage of the interactions between the children is new and footage from the original "Jesus" film is used in two ways- some stories are treated as flashbacks of happenings in Jesus' life (such as his baptism) with narration from the children, while in other cases footage of the children is woven into scenes from the original film. Combining footage filmed nearly 20 years apart is bound to be a challenge, but it is done masterfully and the additional shots of the young actors fit in perfectly- it doesn't appear out of place or forced.

I have enjoyed the original Jesus film through many viewings and it's still my favorite film portrayal of Jesus. My children have also sat through it more than once. However, the new version for children has many benefits. First of all, it's shorter- at 62 minutes, it's easier for the kids to digest. Another benefit is that the narration and interaction between the children go far in explaining situations and events that might otherwise be missed in the larger film (such as the conflict between Jesus and the Jewish leaders). Finally, the brutality of the scourging and crucifixion of Jesus are presented in a more kid-friendly manner.

It's a well-done addition to the "Jesus Film" legacy, effectively using the existing material in a manner that is entertaining, informative and engaging for both kids and adults. This isn't a "dumbed-down" story for the kiddies, but rather a sensitive retelling of Jesus' story that works hard to put it into a framework that children can understand and more easily relate to.

Highly recommended.

Incidently, the DVD version is region 0 and will play in any NTSC DVD player worldwide and includes both English and Spanish soundtracks. The video is also available in VHS here on Amazon, as is the original Jesus movie in VHS and DVD.