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Home , Delilah, Manoah, Samson

The Arts Corner

Imperfect Hero

In the latest movie version of the saga, the hero is Samson’s riddles

shown fighting against all odds, but with God on his side When King Balek hears of the re- markable Hebrew, he dispatches his son Rallah to entrap him. They send By Gerard Condon to this day the term ‘philistine’ is a their strongest fighter into the land of byword for a brutal person. Their local , laying wagers that no one could ITH ITS vivid portrayal of passion, enforcer, Prince Rallah (Jackson Rath- better him. Samson, of course, steps sin and salvation, it is not surprising bone, made up with an evil-looking forward and easily defeats the prize- Wthat the story of Samson has been goatee and black eyeliner), does not fighter; but then falls head-over-heels brought to the big screen many times, hesitate to kill any Hebrew who does for his sister, Taren (Frances Sholto- most notably in 1949 by the maestro not pay tribute to the king, Balek (Billy Douglas) and soon proposes . of the biblical epic, Cecil B. DeMille. Zane, veteran of many bad-guy roles, Samson’s parents urge him not to This latest version, from Pure Flix, is including Cal Hockley in Titanic). These marry the Philistine beauty. On the an earnest, but flawed, retelling of the characters are not biblical. They are other hand, Prince Rallah and his wife story from the , chap- included in the movie for dramatic ef- (Caitlin Leahy), see the po- ters 13-16. fect, to personalize the rivalry between tential in the match for subduing the The movie’s opening credits Samson and the . Hebrew strongman. Samson himself briefly set out the historical context: Samson was not an especially is conflicted by his decision, and goes had led the Hebrews into the moral man. He has an eye for women into the wilderness in search of a sign Promised Land. Each of the 12 tribes and enjoys getting the better of people from God. There, in a poorly staged then settled a different part of Is- with his riddles. Yet, as his parents, scene, he is attacked by a , which rael. Moses was succeeded by (Rutger Hauer) and Zeal- he easily defeats with his bare hands. and then by successive ‘judges’, who phonis (Lindsay Wagner, a TV star in Some time later, on passing that way, defended the people with varying the 1970s) keep reminding their son, he finds honey in the lion’s decom- degrees of success. Samson (played God has blessed him with an excep- posing belly, which he takes as a sign by British actor Taylor James), of the tional strength for the deliverance of of the nourishment that can be found , would prove to be the Israel. This gift came with a condition, in adversity: last and most effective of the Judges. the so-called ‘ vow’: that Sam- “Out of the eater, something to By this time (c.1170 BC), the He- son should not drink wine, or cut his eat; brews had become serfs to the Phil- hair, or ever touch a dead body. Oth- Out of the strong, came what is istines. They were so oppressive that erwise he should lose all his strength. sweet.”

42 MES­SEN­GER OF ST. AN­THO­NY | OCTOBER 2018 King Balek is played by Billy Zane, veteran of many bad-guy roles, including Cal Hockley in Titanic, while the lead role is played by British actor Taylor James

Samson decides to proceed with the marriage, which is hosted by the Philistines in the city of . There, Samson drinks wine, breach- ing his nazirite vow, and taunts Prince Rallah with a riddle. Rallah blackmails Taren into obtaining the meaning of tism, etc., albeit without the drench- two centuries later by , who fi- the riddle from her husband. ing that is depicted in the movie. nally defeated the Philistines.

Destiny and revenge Delilah, the temptress Pure Flix

The conflict between Rallah and It is only at this point that the Pure Flix is an independent film Samson is renewed. Samson kills 30 biblical story introduces us to the studio founded in 2005 in Arizona, Philistine soldiers, looting their bod- character of Delilah, whom Samson USA, and is best known for the God’s ies, further compromising his nazirite loves. Whereas describes her not Dead series, the third of which was vow. He goes on to vent his anger on as a trickster and a temptress, the released earlier this year. In contrast the Philistines by having foxes drag movie portrays Delilah in a sympa- with the secular attitudes of most burning torches through their corn- thetic light, even if this characteriza- film producers, Pure Flix is proud of fields. In revenge, Prince Rallah throws tion does not make sense in light its evangelical, ‘Bible belt’ origins. The Taren and her family onto the fire. of her final betrayal. The movie way this movie highlights Samson’s Stricken by grief and guilt, Samson does accurately quote her most as- personal conversion to God, for ex- retreats into the wilderness. There, tute question: “How can you say you ample, is typical of evangelical spiritu- Caleb (Greg Kriek), a brother who is love me when you do not trust me?” ality. So too is the movie’s treatment not mentioned in the Bible, persuades (Judges 16:15). Samson’s reply divulg- of this part of the Bible as an his- him to confront Rallah. When Sam- es the sole remaining secret to his torical fact, taking highly improbable son sees his father being martyred exceptional strength, his uncut hair. events at face value. (another element not recorded in the Armed with this knowledge, Delilah It is surprising, then, that the Bible), his rage rises once again. Using cuts Samson’s hair while he sleeps. movie takes such liberty with the a donkey’s jawbone, he singlehanded- In the Bible it is someone else who Book of Judges, embellishing it with ly destroys Rallah’s 1,000-strong army performs this task. subplots that are not in the Bible, in a single day. His third vow broken, his strength while omitting others, such as Sam- Following the rebellion, Samson sapped, Samson is easily captured, son’s miraculous nativity. The fin- returns to his home and is formally then blinded and imprisoned by ished product reminds me of the plot anointed as Judge. While this Prince Rallah. Later, he is brought of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, with its scene is not recounted in the out before the assembly of the persecuted hero (Samson), whose first Book of Judges, it resembles Philistines “to amuse them,” love (Taren) was murdered, and who the ceremony of appointment as the Bible tells us. In the rebels against an evil prince (Rallah) for other leaders in ancient story’s best-known scene, who had usurped the throne of his Israel. The symbol of anoint- Samson calls on God father (Balek). ing with oil is retained in and, his hair having But this movie is no Gladiator. our sacraments of Bap- regrown, shakes the While the 1949 Samson and Delilah Philistine cita- won Oscars for its set and costumes, del until it falls, this version certainly will not. The The movie portrays crushing all of Is- Holy Land looks far too neat to be (Caitlin Leahy) rael’s enemies, as real; the rocks like painted Styrofoam in a sympathetic well as himself. and the beards obviously fake. The light, even if this His courage, acting is hammy and clichéd; the sto- characterization does the movie con- ryline of the movie was so disjointed not make sense in the cludes, would that it had me reaching for my Bible. light of her final betrayal be followed The book is better. ✦

OCTOBER 2018 | MES­SEN­GER OF ST. AN­THO­NY 43