Over Easter there is only crap on TV again, although you would like to have a cozy theme evening? We recommend five films related to the holidays as a streamable alternative.
Easter is not just that one Sunday of the year when children and grown-ups wander through the garden or the apartment looking for hidden sweets. Actually, it is a series of Christian holidays that commemorate biblical stories about Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. And Hollywood has also used this religious model countless times – sometimes more, sometimes less successfully. Here are five Easter films that are actually worth watching. Leaving aside the unattainable “Brian’s Life”.
“Mary Magdalene” (2018)
Available for rent and purchase on numerous VOD platforms.
Mary Magdalene is one of the central figures in the Easter story. According to this, she was not only a witness to the crucifixion, the burial and the resurrection. Mary Magdalene was also Jesus’ companion and, according to the biblical text, did not correspond at all to the conservative image of women that is still preached in parts of the church today.
Director Garth Davis (“Lion,” “Top of the Lake”) filmed this myth, starring Rooney Mara in the titular role and Joaquin Phoenix as Jesus, making a feminist work about a woman’s rocky road that on the surface is deafeningly silent is – but underneath it is seething.
Ben Hur (1959)
Available for rent and purchase on numerous VOD platforms.
No list of Easter films is complete without William Wyler’s epic 1959 film Ben-Hur. The story revolves around Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) reuniting with his old friend Messala (Stephen Boyd) in Jerusalem. But the joy doesn’t last long. Because the Roman commander Messala forces Ben-Hur to betray the Jewish rebels. And then he is blamed for an assassination attempt on the Roman governor. Ben-Hur is put in chains and placed in a galley, where an impressively staged odyssey full of intrigue begins. And on the way through the desert – how could it be otherwise – Jesus, who happened to be passing by, saved Ben-Hur from dying of thirst with a sip of water.
With a running time of a good three and a half hours, “Ben Hur” demands some patience from the viewers. But perseverance is worth it. Because the film not only tells a story of epic breadth, it also managed to portray it – with 50,000 extras, 40,000 tons of Mediterranean sand carted in for various scenes and action shots of a breakneck chariot race that were unprecedented for the standards of the time.
“Polish Easter” (2011)
Available for subscription on Prime Video and Mubi as well as on numerous VOD platforms for renting and buying.
There is nothing biblical here, but at most belief in it. Rather, it is about a German-Polish family story – namely that of Mathilda (Paraschiva Dragus), who moves to Częstochowa in Poland with her father after the accidental death of her mother. However, her grandfather Werner (Henry Hübchen) thinks neither of her father nor of the move. So he goes to get his granddaughter back.
“Polish Easter” lovingly plays with prejudices and manages to dissect them piece by piece. It is a story of mutual understanding, of different cultures living together.
“The Story of God with Morgan Freeman” (2016)
Available on Netflix and Sky by subscription.
Ever since Morgan Freeman played God in Bruce Almighty, he’s been hooked on the halo. Appropriately enough, a few years ago he used the image attached to him from this role to take a closer look at the subject of religion for a documentary series. Creatively named The Story of God with Morgan Freeman, the series delves into different religions, examining their relationship to a higher power and the formative influence they have on each culture. It’s worth it, regardless of personal (in)belief.
“Exodus: Gods and Kings” (2014)
Available as a subscription on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and Sky.
It doesn’t always have to be an in-depth religious investigation. We could all use a little head-out entertainment right now. Ridley Scott’s “Exodus: Gods and Kings” provides just the right fodder for this – albeit probably not entirely voluntarily. It doesn’t bother that you have to bend the connection to Easter quite a bit. How about this: The Easter story is in the Bible. It also contains the 2nd book of Moses. It tells the story of the Exodus, the departure of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage.
And the otherwise quite reliable Ridley Scott put it properly in the desert sand. What remains is a tremendous action spectacle to lean back and celebrate.