Our family was given the opportunity to review the movie: The Gospel of John from  https://www.fishflix.com//

Before I talk about the movie, first I want to make sure you know what FishFlix.com is all about. FishFlix.com carries all kinds of Christian films. It’s a one-stop-shop. They have the latest Christian films as well as some bargain basement prices on older ones. The films they carry vary widely from Apologetics to bible studies to children’s films. They carry movies we have loved, including War Room, Fire Proof, When Comes the Heart and so many others. I was given the opportunity to choose from among a long list of movies. Since I have children of all ages, I wanted something permanent to add to our library that all the children would watch and enjoy.

I chose: Gospel of John

Basically this movie is a 3 hour narrative of the Gospel of John. It has a narrator through the entire film. It follows the scripture carefully.

This movie is rated PG-13. While there are no offensive words, there is a fair amount of violence inherent in the story line regarding the crucifixion. It seemed to me that the violence was subtly understated (especially if comparing it to other films that cover the crucifixion, but it may still be too much for some children).  I would recommend stopping the film before that part if you have very young children.  You can preview that section on your own and decide if it’s appropriate for your child.

Pros:

My younger children who listen to the Bible on CD regularly were very familiar with the story line. I liked that it gave a visual component to them of the stories with which they are so familiar. This movie tells the story of Jesus’ life as presented in the Gospel of John. I think this is one the of movies I will have the younger children review annually to help keep the scripture firmly rooted in their minds. Watching this the week before Easter made it especially meaningful. I enjoyed the musical score in this film and believe it enhanced the story without being overwhelming. The scenery was also well done and felt very authentic.

Cons:

The tricky part is that is is written using the American Bible Society’s Good News Bible which caused a little confusion for the children, but they quickly adapted. There were a few other things that gave us pause. This movie, produced in 2003 does the same that many other Christian filmmakers do for the character of Jesus: he looks like a slightly tan American. and the disciples are the same. As soon as the film started, my older daughters (17 and 15) declared it was a “European Jesus” movie.  The movie moved very slowly – which makes sense since it is a word-for-word narrative, but it got dull. After about an hour everyone started wondering how long the movie would last. If your children have normal attention spans, you may want to break this up into two sessions.

Overall, I am so glad we reviewed this film. It’s a change of pace from the usual entertainment and help give focus to the Easter season. I would recommend it for families who are believers as a way to add a new element of study to scripture. I am not sure how effective it would be as an outreach tool. It’s a retelling of the Gospel, but when separated from the rest of scripture would leave an unbelieving person scratching his head and wondering what it was all about.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fishflix
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/FishFlix @FishFlix
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ChristianDVD @ChristianDVD
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/fishflix/