Risen

“Risen” is a sober, reverent story of Clavius (Joseph Fiennes), a Roman soldier ordered to witness the crucifixion of Jesus and prevent his body from being stolen. When the rock placed in front of the tomb and sealed by Clavius is moved and the tomb is empty, Pilate (Peter Firth) is worried that the Jesus’ followers will use this disappearance as proof of His divinity, so he sends Clavius to investigate. His journey will take him to Galilee, and what he sees there will transform everything he thinks he knows.

Fiennes brings Clavius to life with a vivid, thoughtful, sensitive performance, showing us the depth of his loyalty and sense of honor. The way he walks, stands, and rides communicates a lifetime of battles fought and won. He is a man confident in his strength and very aware of the brutality on both sides. At first, he is governed by duty, which we see in the opening battle scenes, in his prompt appearance before Pilate following the battle, not even taking time to clean up, in his acquiescence to taking on a new aide (“Harry Potter’s” Tom Felton, excellent as Lucius) who has not come up through the ranks because his father is Pilate’s friend.

We see that he might have made a different decision about how to respond to the Sanhedrin’s concerns about Jesus, but he follows the orders and makes sure that Jesus is dead and that the tomb is sealed. And we see him speak to his own gods placing a tribute on the shrine to ensure that his prayers are heard.

One of the film’s most powerful sections is an almost “Law & Order” scene with Clavius interrogating witnesses to try to figure out what happened to the body in the tomb. Each encounter tells us something different about Clavius and, indirectly, about the impact that Jesus (called Yeshuah) has had on his followers.

The cinematography by Lorenzo Senatore is beautiful, lending dignity to the story, and Cliff Curtis, a superbly talented performer of Maori heritage who is famously able to play a remarkably wide range of ethnicitys makes a warm, appealing Jesus, kind, compassionate, and a little mysterious. But the focus of the story is wisely on the (fictional) Roman, who is the stand-in for the audience as a witness to the resurrection.

Parents should know that this film includes Biblical-era violence including battle scenes, torture, and crucifixions, with characters injured and killed and disturbing and briefly graphic images.

Family discussion: When did Clavius first begin to believe and why?

If you like this, try: “The Robe,” “Spartacus,” and “Ben-Hur”