The series on the life of Jesus manages to convey the earthly qualities of God, who became man without diminishing the mystery of the Incarnation
While positive reviews continue to abound, I’m sure many were – and still are – skeptical of it The Chosen. And I must admit that I was among them.
Not your typical Christian entertainment project
Skepticism is understandable. On the one hand, the independent, publicly funded series about the life of Christ is the first of its kind – a high-stakes experimental production. The series (although its producers encourage viewers to read the Gospels) is loosely based on Scripture, relying above all on the creativity of its writers in an approach fraught with difficulties and dangers. Most importantly, the series appears at first glance to be the kind of project geared towards the Christian film market, typically saturated with sentimentality and moralistic stories.
From the very first episode, however, it is clear that Dallas Jenkins and all the cast and the troupe from The Chosen they are destined for success. And yet the strength of the program is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. It is not a biblical epic from the Ben Hur era, nor the kind of work of spirituality hidden in the theaters art house. It doesn’t mean that The Chosen be it superficial or irreverent – the creators operate on the basis of a deep faith, and the characters and themes are presented with great love and care – but it is presented in a way that is both disarming and engaging.
Truly fun moments
The show includes beautiful creative touches – Jesus, for example, calls “James the Less” and “James the Greater” respectively “Little James” and “Great James” – as well as genuinely funny moments, such as this exchange between Jesus and his disciples when reunite after some time:
Little James: “Rabbi, we have found the food. What do you want?”
Jesus (speaking of doing the Father’s will): “Ah… I have food to eat that you don’t know”.
(Long confused pause)
Andrea (mouth full): “Who gave you the food?”
Or like this, when Jesus begins to lead the group to Samaria:
Andrea: “Forgive me, Master, but it is safer to go around Samaria through the Jordan in the Decapolis”.
Jesus: “Did you join me for security reasons?”
Great James: “But Rabbi, they are Samaritans”.
Jesus: “Good observation, Great James”.
Roumie lights up the scene like Jesus
Earthly qualities emerge above all in the performance by Jonathan Roumie as Jesus. In stark contrast to the more stoic presentations of Christ, Roumie, Catholic and friend And collaborator from Word on Fire, brings unparalleled warmth, kindness and humor to his challenging role, lighting up the screen with quiet prayer and deep gazes, but also with lighthearted jokes, joyful smiles and even celebratory dances. Beautifully embodying the “kenotic hymn” of Philippians 2, The Chosen shows a compelling picture of the God who has humbly descended into the troubles and triumphs of our human condition – working, joking, sweating, bleeding, traveling, and even offering weary prayers when he goes to sleep after a long day. Rather than belittling the mystery of the Incarnation, looking at Jesus portrayed in this way has the curious effect of elevating him even more.
The best episode so far
The third episode of the second season of the series, titled simply “Matthew 4, 24”, was perhaps the best of The Chosen until this moment.
The verse reads: “His fame spread throughout Syria; they brought him all the sick affected by various infirmities and various pains, possessed, epileptic, paralytic; and he healed them ”. We are taken to the field where the disciples are as Jesus heals nearby.
As night falls, the disciples embark on various conversations about who Jesus is, what He is doing and the mystery for which He has chosen them, unworthy and fragile as they are, to be part of it all. Philip walks with Matthew, talking to him about Scripture and God. Thomas sits with Little James and talks about Jesus’ healings in the light of James’s illness (based on actual disability of the actor), and Mary – whose role at the wedding at Cana was strongly emphasized in episode 5 of the first season – comes to nourish them and speak to them with maternal tenderness. The technical representation of the scene, which seems so human, immediate and credible, gives the audience an idea of what it may have meant to experience that moment and the type of conversations that can spontaneously blossom.
When the disciples gather around a fire, a tortuous conversation begins with Peter’s goading towards Matthew, a former collaborator of Rome, which leads to division and conflict (not exactly an unthinkable situation, in the light of the Gospels). When the tension begins to build, however, Jesus silently emerges from the shadows, exhausted after hours spent healing. His mother runs to his side to wash his feet and clean the blood from his hands and face – a foreshadowing of both Good Thursday and Good Friday. Jesus thanks her and smiles at her, she tells him to sleep and he agrees. “I’m so tired,” he says as he goes to His tent to pray.
The subtle impact of this scene is masterful: Jesus ‘journey into the darkness of sin and suffering and His generous love for the poor, which awakens the gentle love response of the mother, is a stinging rebuke for the disciples’ games. of power and control, of blame and recrimination, and an invitation to look and follow the path of incarnate Love. Two thousand years later, the Church can be said to be still learning the same lesson.
The image of fish is a recurring theme of The Chosen, and the series was clearly born out of a desire to venture into deep water and cast a great net. Given that The Chosen it has tens of millions of viewers in over a hundred countries with subtitles in dozens of languages, and is largely succeeding. As long as Jenkins, Roumie and the others continue to churn out episodes like the last one – with scenes that are not only entertaining, but also thematically rich and artistically subtle -, its reach will be not only wide but profound, and the future will be positively bright.
The Chosen is available for free through the app The Chosen or by Peacock.
Yes, “The Chosen” is really good … and it will only get better