''The Miracle Maker'' ( cy, Gwr y Gwyrthiau) is a 1999 British-Russian-American

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

film directed by Derek Hayes and Stanislav Sokolov of the life of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, voiced by

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shak ...

. Hand-drawn animated cartoons are used to distinguish flashbacks, parables, stories, spiritual encounters and visions from the main plot, which is all in stop motion. A

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...

version premiered on S4C in 1999 with an English version distributed theatrically by Icon Film Distribution in the UK in 2000. The film was also released theatrically in France, Italy, Australia, Spain, Brazil, Japan, Sweden and Poland. It was also distributed in the USA following the

ABC USA The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an Television in the United States, American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the Disney General Entertainment Content#Current assets, ...

premiere in 2000, while Artisan Entertainment, and later Lionsgate, held the home video rights.

Plot

''Based on:

Life of Jesus in the New Testament The life of Jesus in the New Testament is primarily outlined in the four canonical gospels, which includes his genealogy and Nativity of Jesus, nativity, Ministry of Jesus, public ministry, Passion of Jesus, passion, prophecy, Resurrection of ...

'' 100 years into the Roman Occupation of Judea,

Capernaum Capernaum ( ; he, כְּפַר נַחוּם, Kfar Naḥum, Nahum's village; ar, كفر ناحوم, Kafr Nāḥūm) was a fishing village established during the time of the Hasmoneans, located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It ...

priest Jairus and his sick daughter Tamar travel to

Sepphoris Sepphoris (; grc, Σέπφωρις, Séphōris), called Tzipori in Hebrew ( he, צִפּוֹרִי, Tzipori),Palmer (1881), p115/ref> and known in Arabic as Saffuriya ( ar, صفورية, Ṣaffūriya) since the 7th century, is an archaeolog ...

to see a doctor their friend

Cleopas Cleopas (Greek Κλεόπας, ''Kleopas''), also spelled Cleophas, was a figure of early Christianity, one of the two disciples who encountered Jesus during the Road to Emmaus appearance in . Etymology Some writers claim that the name Clopas ...

says can help Tamar. While the doctor confides to Jairus her condition is incurable, Tamar witnesses a deranged woman, Mary Magdalene, defended by

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

, a carpenter building a new synagogue. Jesus visits his mother,

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

, who recalls his birth, the visit of the Wise Men and his conferring with the elders at the Temple. Jesus is

baptised Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

in the Jordan River, where he is spoken to by a heavenly voice, then wanders into the wilderness and resists temptation by Satan. Jesus begins preaching in Capernaum, where Tamar and her mother Rachel hear him give the Sermon on the Mount and tell the

Parable of the Wise and the Foolish Builders A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, w ...

. Judas, a

zealot The Zealots were a political movement in 1st-century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms, most notably during the First Je ...

plotting an uprising against the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

, believes Jesus is the

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

come to lead the people to victory and leaves the zealots to follow him. The Temple priests question the legitimacy of Jesus's teachings, with priest Ben Azra particularly concerned he could lead a revolt. Jesus commandeers the boat of

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

to preach to crowds from the water, then instructs the fishermen into performing the

miraculous catch of fish The miraculous catch of fish, or more traditionally the miraculous draught of fish(es), is either of two events commonly (but not universally) considered to be miracles in the canonical gospels. The miracles are reported as taking place years apa ...

, after which Simon recognizes Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus continues to preach, perform miracles, chooses his twelve apostles (Changing Simon's name to Peter) and frees Mary Magdalene of the demons who possess her. When Jesus forgives her sins in front of synagogue leaders, Ben Azra and Simon the Pharisee condemn him as being in league with the Devil. Tamar's illness worsens and though fearful of angering the priests, Jairus goes to ask Jesus to save her. Tamar dies before Jesus is able to help her, but Jesus encourages Jairus to remain faithful and raises Tamar, who awakens fully healed. Jesus mourns for John the Baptist after he is killed by Herod Antipas, King Herod, who agrees with Ben Azra that Jesus must be dealt with to prevent Pontius Pilate from reporting an uprising against Rome. Jairus, Rachel, Cleopas, and Tamar join Jesus and his followers as they journey to Jerusalem for Passover. High priest Caiaphas is told by Ben Azra he witnessed Jesus Raising of Lazarus, raising his friend Lazarus from the dead and his journey to Jerusalem is the start of an uprising, but Caiaphas reasons that Jesus can be disposed of. Jesus Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, enters Jerusalem, greeted by adoring crowds, where he Cleansing of the Temple, turns the tables of the temple traders, Render unto Caesar, validates the payment of taxes to Caesar and predicts his own death. Judas, now believing Jesus to be a false Messiah, resolves to betray him to save himself and the Jewish people and goes to Ben Azra and the temple priests, who are seeking to arrest Jesus away from the crowds. Jesus has Last Supper, the Passover meal with his followers, where he tells the disciples they will abandon him. He goes to the Agony in the Garden, Garden of Gethsemane, where he refuses a final temptation by Satan to escape his fate, praying for God's will to be done. Judas leads the authorities to Jesus, who is arrested while the disciples flee. Jesus is tried by Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin, Jesus at Herod's court, is mocked by Herod and sent to Pilate, who finds no case against Jesus but Ben Azra has crowds call for Jesus's execution and Caiaphas blackmails Pilate into condemning Jesus to death. Jesus is Crucifixion of Jesus, crucified in sight of his followers, proclaiming ‘It is finished’ and the curtain that separates the Holy of Holies is torn as he dies. Jesus's body is laid in a tomb which Mary Magdalene and Peter both find empty on Sunday morning, but both encounter Jesus in the garden. Cleopas and Jairus tell the disciples they Road to Emmaus appearance, encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus, Thomas the Apostle, Thomas remains doubtful until Jesus appears before him. Jesus gathers all his followers where he tells them to Great Commission, give his teachings to the world before Ascension of Jesus, ascending into heaven. Tamar tells everyone that Kingship and kingdom of God, the Kingdom of God has come.

Cast

* Ioan Gruffudd (Welsh version),

(English version) as

* Michael Bryant (actor), Michael Bryant as Yahweh, God, Doctor * Rebecca Callard as Tamar * Julie Christie as Rachel * William Hurt as Jairus * Daniel Massey (actor), Daniel Massey as

* Richard E. Grant as

* Ian Holm as Pontius Pilate * Anton Lesser as Herod Antipas, King Herod * David Schofield (actor), David Schofield as Caiaphas * Alfred Molina as Simon the Pharisee * Bob Peck as Joseph of Arimathea * William Hootkins as Satan * Ken Stott as Saint Peter, Simon Peter * Lisa Palfrey (Welsh version), Miranda Richardson (English version) as Mary Magdalene * David Thewlis as Judas Iscariot * Emily Mortimer as Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary of Nazareth * Ewan Stewart as Andrew the Apostle, Andrew * Dougray Scott as John the Apostle, John * James Frain as Thomas the Apostle, Thomas * Robert Duncan (actor), Robert Duncan as Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus * Julie Higginson as Mary of Bethany, Mary * Sian Rivers as Martha * Tim McInnerny as Barabbas * Antony Sher as Ben Azra * Lennie James as Tribune Quintilus

References

External links

*
The Miracle Maker
' at th
Arts & Faith Top100 Spiritually Significant Films
list * {{DEFAULTSORT:Miracle Maker, The Portrayals of Jesus in film 1999 animated films 1999 films Christian animation Russian animated films British animated films 1990s stop-motion animated films Portrayals of the Virgin Mary in film Cultural depictions of John the Baptist Cultural depictions of Judas Iscariot Cultural depictions of Pontius Pilate Icon Productions films Films set in ancient Rome Welsh films Films scored by Anne Dudley Portrayals of Mary Magdalene in film Cultural depictions of Saint Peter Biographical films about Jesus 1990s British films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links