Barabbas is an unusual specimen of the midcentury Hollywood Biblical epic, more spiritually searching (and edgier) than its peers. Starring Anthony Quinn as the criminal released by Pilate in place of Christ, Barabbas is based on a 1950 novel by Nobel winner Pär Lagerkvist (recently listed by Anthony Esolen among the greatest religious novels of the 20th century). It follows Barabbas through a long life in the shadow of the Cross, haunted and struggling to comprehend the meaning of having had his life exchanged for Christ’s. He becomes almost an archetype of human resistance to grace – but in the end, does he nonetheless surrender himself to what he doesn’t understand?

Br. Joshua Vargas, Cong.Orat., returns to the show to discuss this intriguing film.

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Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com

James and Thomas discuss a minor classic of religious cinema, the spiritually edifying (and humorous!) Russian film The Island, about a fictional Orthodox monk and “holy fool” who has special spiritual gifts, but remains racked with guilt over a terrible crime he committed in his youth.

The Island can be viewed on YouTube (the subtitles are a different translation from the ones on Amazon): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz-vegualMg&ab_channel=SergeyKorsakov

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Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com

The Criteria crew continues its series on the films of Terrence Malick, jumping ahead to the experimental documentary Voyage of Time, which was co-produced by the Knights of Columbus! Voyage of Time portrays the history of the cosmos, the Earth, and the living creatures on it from the beginning of the universe to its end. The main point of the film is simply to evoke wonder at creation with its gorgeous photography, sound design and music.

The film exists in two versions: a 45-minute version narrated by Brad Pitt (Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience), and a 90-minute version narrated by Cate Blanchett (Voyage of Time: Life’s Journey). James, Thomas, and Nathan Douglas all agree that the long version is generally superior. However, they debate over the content of the narration (which, in both films, is of an existential rather than scientific nature). Thomas contends that the narration in the long version, rather than inspiring the viewer to seek the truth about the meaning of the universe, seems to leave us swimming in a muddled and uninspiring metaphysical soup. James defends the narration as a “phenomenological” portrayal of primitive man’s varying interpretations of the cosmos, rather than a set of consistent truth propositions.

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Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com