Sat in a caravan over the holiday, with the rain whipping down, Netflix was my friend. One of the films that piqued my interest was Noah. The film is more than a faithful retelling of the Judo -Christian Bible story or the Mesopotamian legend uncovered on cuneiform tablets by the British Museum. Instead, I take the film as a fantasy adaptation of the story to explore contemporary concerns. The story was written by writers who among them handled Skyfall, I Am Legend, Gladiator, The Last Samurai and Pi. In short, blockbuster stuff.
Though it has a low audience review score on Rotten Tomatoes, it seems critics did not pan it. There are several interesting aspects about the film. And some worrying aspects too. For instance, the film lingers on the idea of a race-war between the line of Seth (who are pure) and the line of Caine (who are all evil, apart from their women apparently). The two sides are likewise portrayed in tones of black and white. The hatred displayed in certain scenes felt uncomfortable but not so much so that I turned off half way through.
In no particular order, some of the aspects I liked were:
The Fallen Angels
The rock monsters, called the Watchers, are angels who sought to help Adam after he was banished from the Garden. As punishment, they were twisted into their boulder-like forms by the Creator. They are presented as having no clear idea to the questions of faith than mankind has. In short, fallible. Thinking about angels in Hollywood Blockbusters, this isn’t always the case (I’m looking at you, Constantine and Dogma!). One of the angels has the best line in the movie.
“You remind me of Adam.”
Mankind Has The Capacity To Undermine The Creator
Methuselah undermines Noah’s choices which he sees as circumventing the mission he has (to rebuild the world without humanity in it). It was a daring choice of the film makers to present God as someone who perhaps can make errors given that there is a strong Christian community in America. However, it puts agency back into the human’s hands and not in some divine beings. From a story-telling perspective, that’s a clever move.
The Last Seed Of Eden
If there was one part of this story I wish I could steal it would be the last seed of Eden. Not a masterful plot point or some excellent dialogue, but a macguffin that means that Noah can build the Arc. Still, it is a very cool macguffin (and one I hope one day to appropriate in some way)
How Will I Use This?
As a side project, I am currently plotting and drafting a story about the ancient Irish legend of Aoife and Aoibh. It would be awesome if I could make the story more than a simple retelling and instead introduce elements that interest me.
What are your thoughts of the film? Has it inspired you in any way? Let me know by adding a comment.
Imagine Erratically 