Topic > An analysis of the film American Sniper

One of the real flaws of cinema is that you can never really understand the whole story. Even with brilliant writing, phenomenal acting, realistic effects, and a moving soundtrack, the film inherently presents a “fourth wall,” or restriction from which to interact. “Based on a true story” films are often just that: based on the real events that unfold before the people portrayed. In this light, it is impossible to fully cultivate the story of someone's life, garnished with their thoughts and emotions, their impulses and their efforts, everyday life and the emotions that life presents to each of us every day . The movie American Sniper, while wonderfully acted and suspenseful, never quite managed to fully capture the sheer pressure of real-life sharpshooter Chris Kyle. How, then, can you relegate a film “based on the true story” of Jesus Christ, the center of an entire religious following, to the film's 138-minute running time? In truth it is not possible, but the message of this man's life can be carried forward thematically. Both the Bible and the film Son of God can be summarized on the premise that Jesus, the almighty son of God the creator, was a humble man. The theme of modesty is laudable, but critics have criticized the film for not maintaining the same modest behavior described in the Bible. To show exactly where these critics stand, a side-by-side comparison between the film's source material and the film itself will be cross-analyzed to fully understand the nature and risks of the adaptation and why the humble Lamb of God might lose that glimmer. on the big screen. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The first scene to analyze should be the first miracle that Jesus shows to Peter, the fisherman. The context is that of Jesus of Nazareth, a grown man, who comes across a struggling fisherman who has been at sea day and night with barely a fish to show for it. Jesus, according to Scripture, boards his ship and tells him to cast the nets “on the right side of the boat, and you will find some” (John 21:6, NIV). Peter commits himself and collects incredible spoils due to Jesus' ability to manipulate life and perform miracles. While in the rest of the passage Peter confesses that the man standing before him is truly the Lord, the film offers a different perspective. Peter and Jesus cast their nets, catch an incredible amount of fish, and Jesus asks Peter to join him. In classically overused cliché style, Peter asks, “to do what?” to which Jesus responds, looking to the distant horizon, “to change the world.” Jesus (played by Diogo Morgado) does not exemplify modesty as the text does. Even though he seems like a humble soul in the film, there is something very obvious about his use of miracles that contrasts with his behavior in the Bible. He is determined to prove to people that he is the son of God, but he does not intend to boast. His intentions are good, and in the text he does not boast but tells Peter to bring the fish and then feed his disciples. The film, however, offers a hammy, stereotypical “let's change the world” moment that only adds to this shy pride that is very uncharacteristic of Jesus as he appears in the text. Jesus' intentions are to change the world, but he establishes this by doing philanthropic deeds for people and teaching about God and Heaven. In the movie, he basically performs magic tricks and begs the crowd to follow him. In the Bible, people follow Jesus because they feel that he is truly connected with God, while in the film they are fascinated by his magic tricks and sophisms, so they follow him through the desert.This state of humility is drastically different from the text and is a clear point that critics rightly despise in the film. Something more despicable in the film is the portrayal of Jesus. Of course, not many know exactly what Jesus looked like. Jesus' time is estimated to be between 1 AD and 25 AD, which certainly doesn't help historians. It's comparable to saying that your birthday is "the first year you were born." In any case, the era that Jesus was a part of did not value the art or paintings of Jerusalem, unlike the Roman Empire which valued art and aesthetics. The tyranny of the empire troubled the people, and as such they thought only of practical things, such as gathering enough food to survive future generations and themselves. No one actually sat Jesus down and painted his portrait. Many historians believe that, due to the area of ​​the world in which Jesus lived and travelled, compared with some words chosen by his followers, Jesus was quite different from his depiction in most art. His geographic location suggests he would be a dark-skinned man with black features. The Bible confirms this several times in the New Testament, speaking that "his feet were like burnished brass..." (Revelation 1:15, ESV) or that his skin resembled "topaz" (Daniel 10:6, ESV) . While the director is not to be blamed for choosing a lighter-skinned actor to play Jesus (after all, his divine features are quite pale in most historical and modern works of art), but it is the lack of modesty in the It's appearance that causes critics to slam this film. The Bible often describes Jesus as wearing very modest clothing, and the Scriptures state that: “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothing. Instead, it should be that of your interiority, the unalterable beauty of a gentle and calm spirit, which has great value in the eyes of God." (Peter 3:2-4, NIV) Diogo Morgado looks like a L'Oreal model, dressed in bright clothes and flattering sandals. His clothes are quite clean, which would require a lot of attention to detail. No matter how charismatic, generous, compassionate and approachable he seemed, he had Fabio Richardson hair, milk-white teeth and an aura of cleanliness in a place of plague and sand. Some say that divine powers prevented his beauty from being ruined, but for a person who claims that clothes don't make the man, he certainly doesn't act that way in the film. Aside from not acting particularly modestly or dressing simply, the film itself was very lavish rather than humble. In film, the atmosphere created by the camera angle, soundtrack, and lighting can dramatically change the mood or tone of the scene. The film is mainly based on the famous stories of Jesus Christ as he lived, died and rose again. Again, as stated in the introduction, it is no small task to take a person's life and emotions and turn them into a viewable biopic. However, the problem with speeding things up for the sake of pacing is that some sort of paraphrasing has to occur. Jesus and the characters in the film do not follow the Bible line for line. The scenes involving miracles do not show doubters or spectators denying what they have seen, but rather a wave of amazed people accepting that what they have seen is God in true human form. The Bible describes that not everyone is a believer and that Jesus' "heresy" will cause him many problems later when the Romans reach him. The movie, though, has these excited kids running up to him like a celebrity and he charms the whole town. The affability of Jesus is.