Z/Web

Author: Iris Johansen

Not a sequel to

I’d wanted to see this when it was in theatres but missed it. I’d heard about the book years ago from my cousin. It’s about a stranger named Joshua who shows up in a town and bears a striking resemblance to Jesus. He’s a carpenter and begins building a fallen-down church, and soon the whole town’s helping him. He helps people all over town, but everyone’s wondering who he is. Great idea, excellently done, especially in how Joshua “preaches” (he uses common sense and demonstrates love). I found it interesting there are no bad guys in the movie: the ones we think are bad turn out to be simply misled and Joshua heals them. The ending is weak as Joshua visits the Pope — I couldn’t really figure out what that was all about — but it’s still an interesting film. Perhaps filled with more potential than actual import, but it’s got some decent scenes and is worth seeing just for the concept.