One of the greatest challenges is to make an effective faith-based film. The reason is because faith and particularly conversion are intensely personal experiences. What is powerful and profound to one human may come off as cloying and false to another. This makes telling a universal story very difficult. However, it also makes the successes all the more meaningful. One such success can be found in the new series based on the early ministry of Jesus Christ called The Chosen. I highly recommend it for anyone of faith that is looking for quality storytelling.
The Chosen is created by the company VidAngel and had the honor of being the top crowdfunding film/TV project in history. Now you can find the show on the series app/website with the first episode being free to watch on youtube and other platforms.
The series then asks you to ‘pay it forward’ by making a contribution which will allow other people to enjoy it. Indeed, when you are watching the app tells you who’s contribution helped you. It’s a pretty nifty model and hopefully one that will pay off, as the creators have lofty goals of being a spiritual version of Game of Thrones.
No matter how you watch the series, it’s the storytelling that makes it special. I’m not sure who the writers are but they deserve a ton of credit for taking a story we all know and bringing new life to it. Some may feel they take too many liberties with the Bible stories but I felt they took the known stories and told them accurately while elaborating on stories and characters we don’t know much about.
Naturally all the apostles have important arcs but Simon Peter (Shahar Isaac) and Matthew (Paras Patel) get the most to work within the script. For example, we get to dive into what life might have been like for Peter and his wife Eden (Lara Silva) and how ostracized Matthew was because of his work as a publican for Rome.
Erick Avari also does a great job as Nicodemus giving the ruling Jewish classes a warmth and humanity not typically found in a telling of the Christ story. He is astounded by what he see’s Jesus do but struggles to give up his entire life’s work as a rabbi to follow Him and His new teachings.
All the casting in The Chosen is strong including Jonathan Roumie as a very casual and laid back version of Jesus. They even spend an entire episode with him becoming friends with a group of children who visit his camp before his ministry begins. Some may see this episode as a waste of time as it doesn’t further the story much but I loved having the luxury of spending time with Jesus and imagining what he would be like to eat a meal with and work on chores together. It was really sweet!
As far as flaws, the pacing of the series won’t be for everyone but my main problem was with the dialogue. While I admire the storytelling and plotting of the script there are times where the conversation feels a little too modern for its setting and characters. This is particularly the case in the scenes with Matthew as the Roman characters surrounding him are too glib and American sounding. Most of the time I was able to ignore it but sometimes it did take me out of the show.
Other than that, I really enjoyed The Chosen. It humanizes the characters of Jesus’ ministry in an effective and powerful way that I really enjoyed. I hope they are able to get funding for season 2 as I am looking forward to seeing what they do next.
8 out of 10
Smile Worthy
I was paid to watch and provide feedback to the producers of The Chosen but the review was not required and the opinion is entirely my own.
My family sat down and watched The Chosen and we were all moved. The acting was terrific, stayed close to what the Bible retells and the music was stirring. We gave it a 10 (x5 people)
I absolutely loved The Chosen, it has brought me to “wanting a relationship with Jesus 🙌🏻” to read my Bible and pray continually. My love for Jesus has always been with me, but this show just blow up my Love, my heart and soul. I give this show 10 on my smile meter 😊🙌🏻🙏🏻
I’ve heard of this before, but didn’t realize it was a series – I thought it was a movie. And I didn’t realize what it was about. Sounds excellent! Thanks for the review!
Let me know what you think if you get to see it. Happy Easter!
Thank you for giving the pros and cons. Appreciate your review!
Finding The Chosen at this time in my life – it the world – has been an immense gift. Love it and support this review.
Best show on TV! LOVE how they bring such depth to each character.
It’s the best “Bible” show that ever was.
I certainly cant think of any better
Thank you Rachel for your thoughtful and honest review. I loved what you said about Episode 3, getting a slow look at Jesus as it opens the imagination about what He is like outside the lines in Scripture. I think The Chosen portrays Him in a way that is so true to the truth of Scripture. I have found that watching this show more than once is best because you just get more understanding, and catch so many details that are missed the first time.
Thanks again for helping get the word out about a truly different and worthy series that is off the beaten path, but easy to find on The Chosen app for free.
so far I have watched the 1st episode, and a little of the second. I am really enjoying it!
That’s great! Let me know what you think of the rest
Thanks for that comprehensive review that brings out the real merit of an extraordinary piece of work while not winking at its few blemishes. The review does what a good review is supposed to do: bring the reader to appreciate a good thing when it comes along. Regards.
Thank you for your kind words of my review 😊
I watched The Chosen over my two week Winter Break. I really enjoyed Season 1 and 2. There were some parts that made me say to myself, “I need to go reread my Bible for accuracy on that.” My husband is a minister. He hasn’t watched it fully but we did have an interesting discussion on different beliefs as a result of me watching it. I’m sure once he watches it we will have further discussion. Again, great movie. I’m glad I had the opportunity to watch it.
That’s awesome. I don’t necessarily agree with every interpretation either but it inspires discussion so it’s done it’s job. Great show