Exodus

Movies/Scenes Representing the Exodus/Moses

Magnolia (1999)
- there is a part where each of the characters-- a screwed up lot most of them, experiences a rain of frogs. (submitted by Michael Clark, Hamilton, Canada)
The Cider House Rules (1999)
- The migrant workers who come during the picking season stay in the cider house, where there are rules posted for behavior. These are the rules written by the orchard owner, who doesn't necessarily have to live by them. They are imposed rules. They are also ignored rules. The real rules are the unwritten rules that are lived by the people. What makes the 10 commandments different (ISTM) from cider house rules is that as much as the orchard owner is kind to the migrants, there is still no real bond between them. The rules the owner seeks to impose are impersonal and more concerned with the owner's liability than the workers well being. The commandments are for us and for our well being. The commandments are based in our relationship (covenant) with God. It is within the frame work of this relationship that the commandments become more than cider house rules. Without that relationship, ISTM, they become no more important than cider house rules. Which may be why many people treat them as such. (Darrel Manson, Artesia CA)
- In "The Cider House Rules" the laborers laugh at the rules that are posted in the bunkhouse (when someone who can read finally reads the rules for them); they have broken every one and will continue to do so. One of the characters says those rules don't pertain to them because they didn't make the rules and they can't even read them. They have their own ideas about what's right and wrong. (Amy Parker, Charleston, West Virginia)
The Phantom Menace (1999)
- Anakin Skywalker as slave who sets his people free. (See review at Hollywood Jesus.)
The Matrix (1999)
- A suggestion for a movie dealing with some underlying themes to Moses and the Hebrew slaves. I am speaking of the sci-fi hit the Matrix. I very quickly saw an implied theme through out the movie. It is the theme of slaves needing freedom. The people in the Matrix (or Duracell batteries for the machines) are enslaved by a tyrant force using them to power their world. The same can be said for the Hebrews in Egypt. The Pharaoh enslaves the Hebrews to build his world. The machines in the movie use the people literally as a power source. The only difference is that the Hebrews were aware that they were slaves, the people in the Matrix do not. If you have seen the movie you understand why they don't realize they are slaves. In both cases a prophecy is made that a man will be born and he will be the one to free the people. In the Bible it is Moses and he is the 'deliver'. In the Matrix it is Neo and he is 'the One'. And both 'delivers' are not mighty men from some far away land, but are born as slaves themselves. While the movie makes a more obvious reference to Alice in Wonderland, the underlying theme of freedom from slavery is far more interesting and enlightening. (Emily Harding)
The Mummy (1999)
- 12 plagues of Egypt return when the inscription is read from the Book of the Dead.
Dogma (1999)
- "The golden calf is a dead ringer for Mickey Mouse!" (see review at Hollywood Jesus)
Instinct (1999)
- Ethan Powell leads the other prisoners to throw away their cards and not participate in the violent "card game." Everyone gets to go outside.
Deep Impact (1998)
- There is a lottery system that decides who will enter the shelters, based on age and Social Security number. This is a modern version of blood on the door post from the Exodus story. (submitted by Michael Clark, Hamilton Canada)
The Prince of Egypt (1998)
The Truman Show (1998)
- Truman crossing the sea to freedom (See review at Hollywood Jesus.)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
- Andy as Moses figure - murderer/prisoner who finds freedom and shows his friend the way to the promised land.
Natural Born Killers (1994)
- Owen as the Moses figure who leads them out through the bowels of the prison. (Sewage dripping on them from the pipes above.)
The Stand (1994)
- Mother Abigail's prayer (DVD pt 2, ch 7)
The Lion King (1994)
- see "Scripture on the Silver Screen," Adele Reinhartz, The Journal of Religion and Film, 1999.
Tombstone (1993)
- When I lecture on Old Testament Theology, and on the hardening of Pharaoh's heart, I use the scene from TOMBSTONE when Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) asks Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) "What makes a man like Ringo do the things he does?" Holliday answers "A man like Ringo has got a great empty hole running right through the middle of him...he can never kill enough, or steal enough, or inflict enough pain to ever fill it." Wyatt asks "What does he want?" Doc answers "Revenge." To Wyatt's question "For what?" Doc answers "...bein' born." A powerful picture of the interaction of choices and inheritance in the making of an evil person.
  (Lawson Stone--Professor of Old Testament, Asbury Theological Seminary)
Empire of the Sun (1987)
- At the end of the hostilities American bombers drop canisters of food from parachutes to feed the refugees and camp inmates, a clear reference to the 'manna' from Exodus. (submitted by Michael Clark, Hamilton, Canada)
Cocoon (1985)
- the son risks his life to free his grandparents from the people / police, nursing home guards, who would have them stay here on earth in pain and suffering.
Norma Rae (1979)
- Norma Rae leads the other workers to form a community/union and leave the slavery of the unsafe mill.
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
- The young priest leads the people through the water and through adversity to freedom. He almost makes it to the end but does not find freedom from the overturned ship himself. On the other hand, he has found the "freedom" that one finds through self-giving.
- Mrs Rosen - the former underwater swimming champion - saves the priest (and thus the group), but loses her life while doing so. She almost makes it to the end but does not leave the ship alive.
The Ten Commandments (1956)
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
- The children escape in a boat through "bulrushes".

Index of Movie Titles

Index of Movie Themes