A beautiful tale of forgiveness

Rating: 8/10 (22 June 2015)

Like Lawrence of Arabia and other epic mid-20th century film, Ben-Hur is a long watch. Almost 4 hours long with an intermission between the two parts of the film, it does require a lot of patience to get through . It took me more than one sitting to finish the entire movie, but it was worth it in the end. The first part is a little slow to begin with, and yet there's still a lot that isn't shown in the movie and is cut out to save some time. The second half moves along quicker and brings about one of the most climactic chariot racing scenes I have ever seen as well as a crucifixion scene that nearly brought me to tears.
Ben-Hur is not necessarily a "Tale of Christ", as the tag-line proclaims. It is a tale of betrayal, revenge, anger and forgiveness set in the backdrop of Christ. The film centres mostly on Judah Ben-Hur's extraordinary tale of his exile from Judea and his eventual return to find and seek revenge for his imprisoned family. In the background, Jesus of Nazareth gains popularity as a speaker promoting love and forgiveness, culminating in his crucifixion which changes Judah's outlook on the world and allows him to open his heart again.
A long watch, but definitely worth it in the end. Wonderfully done.