Many thanks to Deaf Missions for providing a sample of the product for this review. Opinions are 100% my own
The long-awaited, first feature film about Jesus in American Sign Language is finally here! The best part of it all is that it’s Deaf led production and cast. Take a look:
Synopsis: God’s story is unstoppable when it is in the heart language of a people group. JESUS: a Deaf Missions film, uses Deaf actors to bring the story of Jesus to life from a Deaf perspective for a Deaf audience.
I was recently given the opportunity to experience this new movie for myself. First and foremost, I must say that I do not know any ASL aside from maybe 'thank you' and a bit of the alphabet. As such, I was a little bit apprehensive about watching a movie that is entirely in ASL... but I also found the concept really fascinating and, in the end, the latter won out.
This was such a beautifully done movie. As said, it was entirely in ASL with no spoken word throughout--- even in moments where there is crowd chatter or chanting, it really is just that, chatter in the background with no words made out. It did have closed captioning, which was very helpful. That said, being familiar with the stories of Jesus being told, I found that I really didn't even need those to understand what was going on, so I didn't personally feel like I had to be constantly reading it. For me, I thought that lack of spoken dialogue made me pay attention to everything else more--- the music and other background noise, yes, but also just the emotion of it all. It was such a unique way to experience the story of Jesus and I found it to be very beautiful. That said, it also doesn't shy away from the realities of what Jesus went through on the cross. As such, there is a good deal of violence and blood, and I would advise watching yourself and deciding if your children would be able to handle it. I personally found it very hard to watch at some points myself. (I want to say that it was similar to Passion as far as how it's depicted, maybe a bit tamer, but it has admittedly been many years since I have seen it, so I could be remembering incorrectly.)
As beautiful as I thought it was, I know for those whom the movie was created for will appreciate it all that much more. 68 out of 70 million deaf people are waiting to encounter Jesus. And this movie can truly help to reach them... what could be greater than that?
Buy tickets today to see JESUS: a Deaf Missions film in theaters starting June 20th! Spread the word, share this around the world to reach those who need it most!
Learn more here: https://jesusdeaffilm.com/
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I really want to see this movie with my family it looks moving.
ReplyDeleteheather hgtempaddy
I would love to see this movie.
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