Ben-Hur (1959)

Spoilers Ahead:

The movie is quite long. The essence of the movie can be seen in two parallel scenes. The first when Judah is dying of thirst, chained with the other prisoners, they come by Jesus working in Joseph's carpentry shop. He gives Judah water; as the centurion comes to strike Him, Christ rises up to His full height in front of Judah protecting him. Some say He intimidated him, I see guilt in the centurion's face not fear. Looking across Christ's back into the Roman's eyes, I see all his evil reflected back into his eyes. He does not like the reflection he sees, look at the anguish written upon his visage. This scene occurs again only it is inverted. As Christ stumbles, carrying the Cross upon His beaten and bleeding shoulders, Judah proffers the cup of water to Christ. Watch for the glance at Judah, before the Roman kicks the water away. This is a beautiful scene that contains the essence of this powerful movie. See, Christ looks at Judah, you can see in Judah's face he grasps the lesson Christ taught him. It never was about the water, it was about loving enough to risk death or injury to help another. There is a moment between them, the recognition in Judah's face communicates that he has learned the lesson of real love that protects and risks death to do right.

This moment came after the Messala story the point of which is the utter futility of revenge. Judah gets the revenge he lusted for the whole movie. Yet, when he goes to visit dying, bloody Messala, he only made his hatred multiply a thousand times. Judah has such regret upon his face as Messala brags about what he did to his family. This scene comes before the Christ water scene. Wyler's message could not be clearer, it is the quintessence of Christianity: forgiveness. Judah's hatred is what kept him alive on the slave ship but when he gets the vengeance he worked for, it is empty and multiplies Messala's hatred. When he looks at Christ, he understands: the place for strength is protecting the defenseless. This is what the look between them means; you can see the epiphany in Judah's eyes, the lesson has been learned. Many young people object to the Messala story and say, why is this here? It is here to teach the futility of vengeance; it echoes the Christ story and becomes a beautiful synthesis of forgiveness. The hatred kept Judah alive but when he gets his dream it is bitter and empty in his mouth. When he risks his life giving Christ water, the look from Christ is this message: use your strength to protect not to destroy.

The two stories may seem disparate; the Christ story and Messala's / Judah's feud. There are the two poles of the same point: forgiveness. Wyler uses the lust for vengeance of Judah to show why forgiveness is the path. The movie is long; I suggest a half hour intermission, like they used to do at the theaters. The movie is extremely well acted and written. It contains the core of the teachings of Jesus Christ. Forgiveness and using your moral courage to stand before the helpless. As Christ rises before the centurion, Judah risks his life fulfilling the lesson Christ modeled for him. As Gandhi and MLK both echoed that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind; this is precisely what is being taught. It is a powerful, deeply moral movie that teaches to go beyond animality into the spiritual Light. Whether or not you are a Christian, the lessons of letting go of hatred are applicable to all human souls. A Masterpiece.