1999 British film
The Miracle Maker (Welsh: Gŵr y Gwyrthiau)[2] sometimes subtitled The Story of Jesus, is a 1999 Welsh-Russian[3][4] stop motion-animated film directed by Derek Hayes and Stanislav Sokolov of the life of Jesus Christ, voiced by Ralph Fiennes. Hand-drawn animated cartoons are used to distinguish flashbacks, parables, stories, spiritual encounters and visions from the main plot, which is all in stop motion.
A Welsh language version premiered on S4C in 1999 with an English version distributed theatrically by Icon Film Distribution in the UK in 2000. The film was also released theatrically in France, Italy, Australia, Spain, Brazil, Japan, Sweden and Poland. It was also distributed in the USA following the ABC premiere in 2000, while Artisan Entertainment, and later Lionsgate, held the home video rights.
Plot
90 years into the Roman Occupation of Judea, Jairus of Capernaum, on the advice of his friend Cleopas, brings his sick daughter Tamar to see a doctor in Sepphoris. While the doctor confides to Jairus her condition is incurable, Tamar witnesses a deranged woman, Mary Magdalene, being spared a public humiliation by Jesus, a carpenter building a new synagogue. Jesus leaves Sepphoris and visits his mother, Mary, who recalls his birth, the visit of the Wise Men and his conferring with the elders at the Temple.
Jesus is baptised by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, where he is spoken to by a heavenly voice, he then wanders into the wilderness and resists temptation by Satan. Jesus begins preaching in Capernaum, where Tamar and her mother Rachel hear him give the Sermon on the Mount and tell the Parable of the Wise and the Foolish Builders. Judas, a zealot plotting an uprising against the Roman Empire, believes Jesus is the Messiah come to lead the people to victory and leaves the zealots to follow him.
The Temple priests question the legitimacy of Jesus's teachings, with priest Ben Azra particularly concerned he could lead a revolt. Jesus commandeers the boat of Simon to preach to crowds from the water, then instructs the fishermen into performing the miraculous catch of fish, after which Simon recognizes Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus continues to preach, perform miracles, chooses his twelve apostles (Changing Simon's name to Peter) and frees Mary Magdalene of the demons who possess her. When Jesus forgives her sins in front of synagogue leaders, Ben Azra and Simon the Pharisee condemn him as being in league with the Devil.
Tamar's illness worsens and though fearful of angering the priests, Jairus asks Jesus to save her, but she dies before he is able to. Jesus encourages Jairus to remain faithful and raises Tamar, who awakens fully healed. Jesus mourns for John the Baptist after hearing he has been killed by King Herod, who agrees with Ben Azra that Jesus must be dealt with to prevent Pontius Pilate from reporting an uprising against Rome. Jairus, Rachel, Cleopas, and Tamar join Jesus and his followers as they journey to Jerusalem for Passover. Ben Azra tells high priest Caiaphas that he witnessed Jesus raising his friend Lazarus from the dead and his visit to Jerusalem is the start of an uprising, but Caiaphas reasons that Jesus can be disposed of.
Arriving in Jerusalem, Jesus turns the tables of the temple traders, validates the payment of taxes to Caesar and predicts his own death, leading Judas to believe him to be a false messiah. Judas resolves to betray him to save himself and the Jewish people and offers to help the temple priests arrest Jesus away from the crowds. Jesus has the Passover meal with his followers, where he tells the disciples they will abandon him, then goes to the Garden of Gethsemane, where he refuses a final temptation by Satan to escape his fate, praying for God's will to be done. Judas leads the authorities to Jesus, who is arrested while the disciples flee.
Jesus is tried by Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin, is mocked by Herod and sent to Pilate, who finds no case against Jesus but Ben Azra has crowds call for Jesus's execution and Caiaphas blackmails Pilate into condemning Jesus to death. Jesus is crucified in sight of his followers, the curtain separating the Holy of Holies is torn as he dies, and his body is laid in a tomb. Following the Sabbath, Mary Magdalane returns to the tomb and becomes distraught when she finds it empty, but she is comforted by the seemingly resurrected Jesus. She tells Peter, who also encounters Jesus in the same place, while Cleopas and Jairus say they met Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Jesus appears before the apostles, then gathers all his followers on a mountain, where he tells them to give his teachings to the world and that he will always be with them before disappearing.
Reception
The Miracle Maker received positive critical response, Antonia Quirke of The Independent calling it "a powerfully engaging film, one that correctly sees the gospels as spiritual autobiography, and Jesus's skill with parables as an art both fundamental and devastating."[1]
Steven D. Greydanus of the National Catholic Register praised it, saying "no other Jesus movie I’ve seen is so well-grounded in the historical, cultural, political, religious and even economic realities of Jesus’ day, or in the religious conflict between Jesus and the Jewish authorities. From Jewish-Roman tensions to diverse groups within Judaism — Pharisees, Sadducees and Zealots; priests and local religious leaders, working-class Jews, despised tax collectors and other 'sinners,' hated Samaritans, and even more marginal figures like 'Mad Mary' Magdalene — Murray Watts’ astonishingly deft screenplay efficiently sketches the lines between all these groups. And then it demonstrates how easily Jesus crosses those lines, to the discomfort of all around him, his disciples included."[5]
Den of Geek listed it at #1 on a listicle of "25 Best Bible Movies About Jesus Christ to Watch For Easter," Rebecca Clough writing "For a children’s film, there’s an astonishing amount of intelligent insight into characters’ feelings and motivations. It’s also beautifully made, moving, and funny."[6]
