Noah (2014)

Summary :

Genre :

Country :

Cast :

Director :

We broke the world – we did this.
Man did this.
Everything that was beautiful, everything that was good, we shattered.
Now, it begins again.

I actually wonder what was so bad about the movie “Noah“. Admittedly, it does smell a bit like commercializing the book of books. By the way, this remains the most ingeniously elaborated marketing plan ever conceived in human history. This marketing plan made sure a book was written that will dominate the list of bestsellers in perpetuity. Probably until the end of the world. Just like so many films the last years, “Noah” is just a film adaptation of a work of literature. After “The Lord of the Rings“, “Harry Potter“, “The Hunger Games“, “Divergent” and other similar books susceptible to commercialization, it seems like Hollywood has found a Biblical gap in the market. End of this year Christian Bale will be wandering through the bone-dry desert as Moses (also with a trimmed beard) in “Exodus: Gods and Kings“. Darren Aronofsky’s religious story “Noah” is of a moister content, with Russell Crowe hammering together a huge boat, so he can defy the saltwater (God sprinkled the earth’s surface liberally) together with his offspring and all species living on earth, except for the water creatures, because they feel comfortable in this huge bathtub. But isn’t it so that it should be freshwater instead of saltwater with all that rain? And aren’t there two types of aquatic animals? Those who survive in saltwater and the others? How was this crucial problem tackled?

The short-story “Noah”.

Anyway, despite the practical issues, this was a highly entertaining spectacle with an abundance of special effects and water (They used about 83,000 liters water in this film. A quantity that would make the average Ethiopian farmer jealous … ). You could expect the Christian community not being happy about the making of this film. Isn’t it sacrilegious to turn this pious story into a mega spectacle and create it like contemporary fantasy films? (Sarcastic tone) I suggest they redesign the interior and decoration of churches so that it would be a reflection of this rather epic-looking film. There’s a high probability that one could reach a new fan base and the population of the group of churchgoers could grow again. I have no idea if this version of “Noah” follows the original story faithfully. The only thing I knew about it, was that an ark full of animals, which drifted on an immense ocean, played a major role. I don’t know if the family troubles as presented here, correspond to the biblical story. It would be just a simple, short film if Aronofsky remained faithful to the biblical version because that story about the adventures of Noah is not that big of a deal.

Enjoyable film.

All in all, it’s an enjoyable film (despite me not being that religious) with a few little flaws, but still a stunning visual presentation with beautiful, serene interpretations. For those who started tearing their hair and protesting against it (even before there was any finished material): isn’t it written in the Bible “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. (Matthew 6:14)” ? I suggest you forgive Aronofsky’s artistic freedom and approach this interpretation with a more open mind. That would be nice example of “loving one’s neighbor”. Amen !