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The Prince of Egypt
By FRANKLIN DAHTU KOLMA
A merciless order is given out, a
baby is put into a basket, the basket is set adrift on a river, a
sister watches her baby brother float away from her life.
The child, destined for nowhere, will become the greatest
political and religious leader of all.
These are the starting events that we have heard so many times in
our lives, the story of the baby boy in the basket who was named
by his Egyptian mother, Moses; a slave by blood and a prince by
nature, a servant of God by heart and a sinner by nature and the
forefather of the faith that we now call Christianity.
Now if there is one deep longing that everyone, both believers in
God and atheists have in common, it is the wish to see or hear
God, or at least literally see God manifest on something that is
of the earth.
Moses didn't even ask to speak to God and yet he was chosen to
have the highest honor that any men could have - to be in God's
presence. Moses was an awesome man of God and we are blessed to
know about him.
Based on the book of Exodus in the Bible from chapter 1 to 14,
"The Prince of Egypt" is a gripping retelling of this rich and
well known story with embellishments that somehow give real life
to a oft repeated story.
It is a story of brotherhood, friendship and faith. It is the
telling of how two men connected by brotherly love are forced to
take opposite sides, one born to be a King and the other born into
slavery, and how only one of them would rise up as a liberator and
leader of his people.
"The Prince of Egypt" brings out all the emotions that would have
been felt at the time to the people in the story. There are so
many aspects to the film that make it so emotionally moving.
The music as in most films plays a vital role in moving the story
along and also in portraying the feeling of a particular part.
There are original songs by Steven Schartz and also original
musical scores composed by Hans Zimmer that at some stages move
you to tears. There is also a haunting Egyptian hymn that is sung
early on in the movie that really haunts and leaves a certain
uneasiness inside you, kind of like the feeling of a past event
that you missed out on and has come back to haunt you.
Then there is the animation factor, done so artistically and
realistically by Dream Works, who have come to be known for their
great animated movies. The animators clearly put a lot of effort
into making sure that the characters and landscapes in the film,
met their real life counter parts physical and generic looks. The
characters show such life like facial expressions that I think
bring out the emotions better then real life actors. Many parts of
the film had beautiful desert scenes as well as a pretty accurate
model of what the Egyptian Empire must have looked like. All
effects put into the movie, from the dust storms to the ripples in
the water, all aspects to the tiniest detail were clearly looked
into with great care and talent.
And where would an animated movie be without its voice talent cast
and this movie is filled with familiar voices, such as: Val Kilmer
- Moses, Ralph Fiennes - Rameses, Michelle Pfeiffer - Tzipporah,
Patrick Stewart - Pharaoh, Danny Glover - Jethro to name a few.
The movie contains memorably touching scenes that will stay with
you for ever, such as the meeting between Moses and God in the
mountains and how God comforts Moses after he gives Moses the huge
task of facing his own people and his brother Rameses.
Or the scene were the Guards of Rameses wade towards Moses to
arrest him, he looks up to the heavens and God gives him peace and
then he takes the staff and places it in the river and it turns to
blood, showing the might of the Lord.
Also the part where the Red Sea divides into two at the lowering
of Moses staff is breath taking, I was awed at the amazing sight
of how the sea opened up....it was just so beautiful.
Watching the movie, I wish the movie makers have completed the
whole exodus story, how that would have moved mountains of people.
"The Prince of Egypt" is a great experience that just has to be
shared with everyone. It is not only about God and the Hebrew
people, it is also about the Egyptians and how Moses must have
felt emotionally excruciating pain towards both of the races that
he had come to love so much.
"The Prince of Egypt" is one of the best movies I have ever seen.
Please get your CD at your favorite shop if you have not already
done so.
 
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