Listed as one of the must-see religious films, the film was remade in 2016, but word-of-mouth and box office lose-lose, and the real recognition is still the old version of 1959. The story structure of Bin hue is very unique because it embeds the biblical history of the Jews and the story of Jesus in the story of Prince Bin Hun. So to understand this movie, you have to know something about the Bible.
The obvious protagonist of this play seems to be Binxuan, but the real protagonist is actually the Jesus who has no frontal photo but only a back shadow left for the audience.
The Story of Prince Ben: Judas was a descendant of the Royal Family of the Jewish Nation, with a happy family of wealth and prestige, but all this disappeared with the arrival of the Roman garrison. Methera, a Roman orphan adopted by the Judas family as a child, is now the Roman governor of Judah, responsible for the security of the governor. At this time, the province of Judah was full of dissatisfaction and rebellion against the Roman government, did not pay taxes, destroyed Roman idols, and the governor came to suppress the people here.
Methela approached Judas and asked him to persuade the people of Judah with royal prestige to renounce their resistance to the mighty Rome and hand over the list of fanatics, which Judas did not want to do, but hoped that Messera would persuade the Roman governors to give freedom to the people of Judah. Messera, who had been favored by the Judas family, told Judas that to survive he had to be part of Rome, and that, like himself, he had become part of Rome's fanatical imperial dreams.
Judas and Messera broke up unhappily, and then as the Governor passed by the Jews, an old tile accidentally fell and injured the Governor, and Messera used this as an excuse to punish the Judas family, and Judas was sent to the warship as a slave. Judas' mother and sister were captured and their whereabouts are unknown. The sins of the Judahs were finally judged without trial, and just as Jesus was convicted, it was not about what sin you had committed, but what sin the Romans had accused you of.
Judah rescued the Roman consul Arius during the war, and was adopted as his adopted son by Arius at the celebration, becoming the "young Arus". The celebration was marked by the appearance of Bento Pilate, who said he was about to be sent to Jerusalem as governor.
Judas in Rome could not forget his relatives, and now he was a noble Roman, but he felt that he had nothing. His heart was filled with hatred for Messera, and like the poor people of Judah, he felt that every Roman deserved to die. So he returned to Jerusalem, looking for his loved ones and taking revenge on Messera.
On his way home, Judas met an old man named Bataisha, who had seen the newborn Jesus in Bethlehem with the guidance of the stars, and now he was also going to Jerusalem to look for Jesus. Bataisha told Judas about Jesus' faith, but Judas disagreed.
Judas eventually defeats Messera in the arena, and Methela dies of injury, but Judas does not have the pleasure of revenge, and he is still better off dead, especially when he finds that his mother and sister are already lepers who are blind and live in a dark valley cave. Judas wants to recognize his mother and sister, but his lover Esther stops him because her mother and sister don't want Judas to see them suffering from leprosy. In the valley, Judas and Esther meet Bataisha and many of the people who have gone up the mountain, and they all go to listen to Jesus preach, but Judas flees because he does not believe that Jesus can give him any revelation of his miserable and hateful life, but Esther chooses to sit down and listen to Jesus preach.
Judas' sister eventually lay dying, and Esther told Judas that the only way now was to go to Jesus for help, because Esther had heard that Jesus was a deed and believed that Jesus could bring comfort. At this time, just as Jesus was sentenced to death on the cross, Judas followed the execution procession to the execution ground and watched Jesus crucify. It was suddenly as dark as night lightning and thunder, and after a rainy night, Judas returned to his dilapidated home, only to find that his mother and sister had recovered from leprosy.
History of the Jews: The Jews, once chosen by God, were eventually under the iron fist of the Roman Empire after experiencing the upheavals and displacements of the destroyed nation. The Jews were oppressed and persecuted by the Roman government, and their lives were miserable, full of beggars and poor and sick people. But Rome continued to raise taxes in order to expand its empire and provide for the nobles to live in luxury.
The Jews of Judah felt that every Roman deserved to die because of their tyranny, because they had different beliefs from the Jews. The Jews longed for the appearance of their own king, like Solomon, King David, to lead them back to their former glory. But Judah was only a small province on Rome's mighty map, and with the exception of a small-scale rebellion by some freedom-hungry fanatics, Jews were still arbitrarily arrested and executed under the powerful garrison.
Even a royal family like Judas was destroyed in an instant, and the lives of ordinary people with low status could be imagined.
Faced with this life devoid of dignity and hope, many Jews no longer believed in their own God because he did not bring the glory of his people and led his people out of slavery to live a dignified life. But at this time there was a new idea circulating in Jerusalem—God was in everyone's heart. This seems to be a reminder that everyone can act according to the values they agree upon, and that new ideas are quietly influencing the people of Jerusalem.
The Jews at this time were faced with two choices, one was to take revenge like Judas and arm themselves with hatred, but in the face of Rome's strength, they were tantamount to moths fighting fire and killing themselves, which was already doomed to a dead end. And the Jews who resisted with all their strength will eventually become like the Romans, and brutality and killing are inevitable.
Rome's brutality was doomed to extinction. Just as Judas, who had turned himself into a "Roman citizen," could not be relieved after his revenge, the Jews, if they chose this path of revenge, were doomed to take a path of "still dying."
"I am a benefactor," Judas finally returned to Arus's ring, remembering his own identity, or, remembering that distant faith. In Jerusalem at this time, the people ascended the mountain and surrounded a young man named Jesus, who was about the same age as Judas. This young man offered a different path, and he told people: All roads lead to God. He told the people that no one has the right to kill anyone and that those who kill will be punished. He also told people that there is a way to redeem the soul, there are no borders, there is no national division.
People believe that all roads lead to Rome, but this young man named Jesus tells everyone that all roads lead to God, just depending on whether you want to believe it or not. Mutual hatred is the never-ending path of death, only the kingdom of heaven is the way of life, and only the peace of mind is the eternal worth pursuing.
The Story of Jesus: The story begins in the 26th year of the Age of Jesus, when Messera entered Jerusalem with the Roman garrison, passing through the village of Nazareth and passing by Joseph's low house where he was a carpenter. At that time the elderly Joseph was working alone, and his son Jesus was walking on the mountain because Jesus said that was his job.
When Messera entered Jerusalem, she also heard a man named John saying strange things, followed by some strange people. When Judas was sentenced to be taken as a slave to a warship, he passed through the village of Nazareth, and the thirsty criminals and escort soldiers were brought water by the villagers, and Judas was deliberately harassed by Roman soldiers not to give water to drink.
Judas fell to the ground and cried out to God, when Jesus appeared to feed him water, and Judas saw Jesus, and all the pain on his face turned into incredulity. When the Roman soldiers wanted to drive Jesus away, they lost all their anger in the moment they saw Jesus, and their original appearance like beasts was instantly transformed into a weak sheep.
Jesus' faith spread among the people of Jerusalem, but soon Jesus was sentenced to capital punishment on the cross for incitement, along with two other prisoners. After Jesus was convicted in the square, Pontius Pilate washed his hands in public, and Jesus carried the cross on his back and was staggered forward by the whips of The Roman soldiers, but he suffered so much that people saw Jesus' expression so calm.
On the steps, Jesus fell to the ground, and Judas saw Jesus, recognized him as the one who had saved his life by feeding him water, and wanted to feed Jesus water to drink, but was driven away by Roman soldiers. Judas involuntarily followed the execution procession away, and Esther hid in the cave with Judas' mother and sister. Jesus was crucified, and perhaps onlookers were Jesus' disciples, Jesus' mother, and other women, and Judas stood in it and witnessed this historic moment.
At this time, the sky was suddenly dark, lightning and thunder, and it was raining heavily, and the heavens and earth seemed to be torn apart. Esther in the cave suddenly knew the man was dead, because they felt the tear, but that was the beginning. They embraced and prayed, the rain washed away Jesus' body, flowing into the valley with blood, Judas's mother and sister's leprosy suddenly healed, they returned to their normal appearance, miracles appeared, and the blood of Jesus washed away the hatred and sins of the world.
When the storm stopped, Judas returned home to see miraculously returning to normal mother and sister, they embraced each other, Judas was finally reunited with his loved ones and lovers, and it was Jesus who saved them.
At the end of the film, the shepherd (the resurrected Jesus) leads the flock through the mountains in the distance, and the sun is shining through the clouds into the quiet empty cross.
PS: This film is regarded as a religious film, the power of faith is not conveyed by preaching, but through the three-layered story, and eventually the audience will choose to believe in Jesus and obtain peace of mind like a guest. In addition to the back of Jesus in this movie, the audience cannot see his front, and the audience can only feel the healing power of Jesus' face through the expression of the characters in the play to see Jesus.
At the time of the trial in the square, Jesus' face was black, just as the portrait was painted, which was supposed to express the original belief of Christianity and could not be idolized, so Jesus could not appear in true form. The same is true of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and a grief-stricken woman at the time of execution should be Mary, but her appearance is also very vague. On the other hand, both Jesus and Mary belong to God and are not to be seen. The treatment of the religious belief part of the film "Bin Hui" is so appropriate, it can be seen that the numerous awards are also deserved.