Terrence Malick Is Making A Jesus Movie

Terrence Malick, the director/writer/producer know for his spiritually-minded films such as The Tree of Life, To The Wonder, The Thin Red Line, and his latest drama A Hidden Life, is set to make a more overtly Christian film. The Last Planet will tell the story of Jesus through a series of parables.

Actors Mark Rylance, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Géza Röhrig have been cast in the three principal roles as Satan, Simon Peter and Jesus, respectively

Christians and cinephiles find common holy ground in Malick’s work with his masterful interweaving of spiritual breadth and cinematic beauty. A Hidden Life which comes out this December is already being praised. The film tells the true story of Franz Jägerstätter an Austrian who refused to fight for the Nazis during World War II because of his Christian faith. In the film Terrence explores the themes of duty, nationalism, family, submission to papal authority, and sacrificial love.

While Terrence Malick’s work might not find it’s way into the Faith-based Films category, there are many who see his films as just that.

“All that said, I believe Malick’s cinema is not vaguely or ambivalently religious or spiritual but is, in fact, distinctly and explicitly Christian,” wrote David Roark for RogerEbert.com.

“More specifically, I believe Malick’s films are evangelical; they function as cinematic ‘liturgies’ that seek to orient the hearts and minds of viewers toward the Christian story—a way of seeing and interacting with God and the world—helping us, as Private Witt says in The Thin Red Line, recover the good within us and reach out to touch the glory.”

The Last Planet will continue telling the Christian story in Terrence’s beautiful way. While he hasn’t given much in terms of plot, we’re sure to see Christian themes represented and hopefully a Jesus who resembles the Jesus of the Gospels.

We will be sure to keep you updated as the The Last Planet takes shape. Until then, we eagerly await Terrence Malick’s A Hidden Life.

source: IMDB |  RogerEbert.com