Since childhood, I have enjoyed watching films depicting Bible stories, with a very early memory of the depiction of some of Christ’s apostles. I probably saw several versions of the Genesis Flood story, with Noah and the Ark.
With all the various treatments, in films, of Adam and Eve, Abraham and Isaac, Joseph and his wayward brothers, I came to understand that portions of those movies were purely fictional, with words and actions not taken from the Bible but from the imaginations of those who wrote and directed those dramatizations. Yet I found joy in those parts that were from Genesis. I cannot, however, recommend the 2014 film Noah, which gets further and further away from the Biblical account and is foreign to the real man Noah.
I stopped watching the movie (which I borrowed on DVD from a library) when Noah, who was protecting animal life on the Ark, became determined to kill his only baby grandchild, even before that child was born. How could anyone imagine any characterization more foreign to the actual character of the person whom we call Noah?
I know that the film creators were not intending to portray the Genesis account; they were creating a fantasy based upon a few principle parts of that scriptural record. But why use the name Noah? Why not create a fantasy without tearing down that name? I can only plead with everyone to avoid this film. The violence has almost few boundaries and the spirit of the original record of the Genesis Flood is absent.
In contrast, I highly recommend the film 17 Miracles. How inspiring that Mormon pioneer historical dramatization is!
