Amazon.com: The world can be divided into two camps: those who will watch Joshua reverently and gratefully, and those who will not touch it with a 10-foot pole. The reverent probably own Joseph F. Girzone's bestselling novel about a mysterious but friendly loner who shows up in a small American town and blesses every life he touches. Whites and blacks, Catholics, Protestants, and Jews will work side by side as newly recognized brethren; an estranged couple will resolve to save their marriage; the lonely and disconnected will embrace and be embraced by community; etc. The message--the healing power of Christ's love--is beyond reproach, the intentions of the filmmakers entirely benign, but there is not one whit of dramatic tension or narrative complication to any of it. The cast is stronger than usual in such religious projects (Tony Goldwyn, Oscar® winner F. Murray Abraham, Giancarlo Giannini as the Pope), but no one has a prayer with a script that posits the hero's Christhood on the fact that 12 people show up for his going-away dinner. --Richard T. Jameson
Item not received I have not received this item. I've emailed the seller twice and have had no reple!!
Surely,you must be joshing! "Joshua" is an interesting,but terribly flawed,cinematic version of Joseph Girzone's best seller. Joshua,a handsome young man,wanders into the small town of Auburn. He transforms the lives of everyone he meets- he teaches a woman how to cook, he brings together a married couple whose union was on the rocks, builds a statue of Peter for the local Catholic church, and makes common cause with the Baptists. He's such a force of lovey-dovey goodness he practically has everyone singing "Kumbaya." Surprisingly,Joshua doesn't write a memoir,or run for the Senate,let alone the presidency. In the end,Joshua heads off to Rome to meet the Pope.
"Joshua" has vague,feel-good spirituality. F. Murray Abraham stands out,only because he's doubtful of Joshua's motives. His character has some substance. Joshua has a spirituality that's hard to pin down,other than being nice. As a Christ-figure,he's ambiguous. He's a metaphor that falls flat as a character. "Joshua" belongs to the Hallmark school of movies. It's as deep as a greeting card.
A wonderful, sweet parable Watch this with your family (all ages invited) or thoughtfully alone. It's a story, from the Joseph Girzone novel, of a stranger that arrives in a small town. The tale unfolds obviously into a 21st century mirror of Jesus' experiences in the 1st century gospel story . . . healing, Pharisees, patience and compassion, persecution, love.
Without question, any believer will take issue with SOME theological difference they can locate in this presentation. But if you are a follower of Jesus, or Yeshua if you prefer, I encourage you to set aside theological wrangling and don't miss the opportunity to enjoy this. Let your imagination run with this "what if" of a visit by Jesus.
Some critical production observations -- the hometown scenes early in the movie are indeed a bit trite. Much of the humor is corny, and some of the "good people" a bit oafish, many examples of over-characterization. The town is too clean. Even the ruins of a destroyed church are orderly (a typical Hollywood treatment). Kind of a made-for-TV feel, but still, this keeps it safe for kids. There is much wisdom in the story (the Gospel story!), so please try to get past some of the Hollywood weaknesses and think about the tale. By the way, Kurt Fuller delivers nicely as Joshua, and F. Murray Abraham is spot on as an unlikeable priest.
The payoff -- the story builds toward a trip to the Vatican for Joshua and an audience with the Pope. A bit of awesome footage of that location, and a very profound ending.
I'll give it 4 stars for enjoyability and the inspiring story. It could have been handled more carefully, I'll reserve a star for that. I expect that you will enjoy it.
Amazing Movie One of the absolute best Christian movies available. Very touching. Keep watching it over & over.
good movie The best reason I can think of for owning this movie is to be able to watch for the little details the second time you watch it that you might have missed. (look for the Challah bread!) My family and I really enjoyed this movie. Some of the parts of the movie were very clever in how they used passages from the bible in the context of this story (for example, "I am what I am").
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