The Miracle Maker: The Story of Jesus (2000)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written by Murray Watts
Directed by Stanislav Sokolov and Derek W. Hayes
Executive Art Design by Helena Livanova
Score by Anne Dudley
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Julie Christie, David Thewlis, Richard E. Grant, William Hurt, and Miranda Richardson (voices)

Features:

• 5.1 Dolby digital sound
  
• "Making of" documentary
  
• Trailer
  
• Cast and crew information
  
• Production notes
  

Rating: NR

Anamorphic: Yes.

My Advice: Rent it.

Ostensibly a dramatic recreation of the events of Jesus' adult life, this film is surprisingly so much more than that. It is, quite simply, a triumph of animation. The events of the Bible are done in 3-D, using latex marionettes that are incredibly lifelike. However, to offset the world of the parables as Jesus tells them, the animators chose to set in 2-D pieces, and the effect is not jarring, but is rather quite smooth and dreamlike. Originally a BBC creation, the art was created via a collaboration between a Russian marionette company, Christmas Films, and a Welsh company, Cartwyn Cymru.

Enough cannot be said about this film's production values. The crowd scenes alone are amazing and worth the price of the disk--add to that the way the marionette heads actually seem to speak...well, you have real art here. The mixture of 2-D and 3-D, as already stated, is effective and attractive, as well as fun to watch.

The plot is, well, nothing new certainly, coming straight from the Bible, but the tales are done with sensitivity and respect. If anything, the animation and scripting are perhaps a wee bit too politically correct, the very real passion and force of the scenes almost edited right out of them in order to avoid offending anyone. Certainly in today's political climate, artists worry about losing their funding or even their lives should they offend the wrong person, but there are times when the scenes are overly subdued, even dismal. While Christ's life might not seem a laugh riot, his message of love and joy is almost lost amid the focus on his pain and the suffering of those around him. The scene where Jesus gives in to his anger and tosses the moneylenders from the temple is even rather tame--Fiennes does his best to show Jesus as a social revolutionary, but the passion just isn't there. A film, therefore, that could be powerful even for non-Christians (I mean, a man who dies for what he believes in--dies for love? Have to love that.) is instead simply good when it could have been great.

A few liberties were taken with the Biblical plot, but only small things that should not upset anyone. Mary Magdalene's possible mental instability is played up; she's called "Mad Mary" by the villagers. Also, there is a large focus on Jairus' daughter, the girl who, according to the New Testament, dies of her sickness before Jesus can arrive to heal her; her resurrection is one of the truly touching pieces in this movie.

The voices, given the stellar cast, are as incredible as you would assume. Ralph Fiennes as Jesus is particularly amazing, but blended with Dudley's wonderful score, each voice does a splendid job of bringing the dolls to life and making them seem real and emotional.

The visuals are crisp and professionally remastered. I detected no blinking, fuzzing, or other common visual problems; every scene, both 2-D and 3-D, was lovely and saturated. Even the frames meant to be dark and dismal were at least clear and well-drawn or sculptured.

The extras are also quite solid. The making-of documentary will go even further towards increasing your appreciation of how finely crafted this film is, as well as answering some of your questions about how it was done. Given that this film is truly a work of art (the collaboration of many artists in two countries), the widescreen format is a necessity. The cast and crew information, given the nature of the film's unusual form, is also nice to have. The production notes are also quite interesting and useful, and I hope the trend of including such information continues.

All in all, people looking for Biblical stories that preach obviously and don't insult your intelligence will be well served by this gem of animation. Those who also appreciate artistry and craft will be in awe of the claymation-like techniques, as well as the painterly 2-D scenes.