THE PRINCE OF EGYPT Review By Victory A. Marasigan
NOTE: This review and an interview with Dreamworks SKG's Jeffrey Katzenberg and the makers THE PRINCE OF EGYPT can be found at: http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~vmaras1/reviewsidx.html
The concept for DreamWorks SKG's _The Prince of Egypt_ doesn't sound like subject matter ripe for the animated-movie treatment. The film retells the Biblical story of Exodus, the same one told in DeMille's expansive epic _The Ten Commandments_. A "cartoon" about plague and pestilence, infant murders, and the drowning of hundreds of soldiers? Is DreamWorks crazy?
Such reservations can thankfully be put to rest, because the resulting film is one of the most touching and emotionally uplifting versions of the story yet depicted. DreamWork's version of this oft-told tale offers a vulnerable Moses, as compared to Charlton Heston's famous chiseled-out-of-stone take on the character. Gaunt and rather unintimidating, this Moses (voiced by Val Kilmer) has the rebellious demeanor and zeal that any young soul might have.
The film's bold, sweeping opening sequence (underscored by the wondrous choral cry "Deliver Us") shows us Moses' legendary beginnings, as his desperate mother sends him adrift on the Nile to escape the Pharaoh's (Patrick Stewart) murderous soldiers. Ironically, this action brings the Hebrew infant into the care of the Pharaoh's family. Raised like the Pharaoh's own, Moses grows up unaware of his true heritage. He develops a strong bond with the Pharaoh's son Rameses (Ralph Fiennes, in the most convincing and heartbreaking of the film's characterizations). Moses' life is turned on its end when, soon after being declared prince, he meets his true siblings (voiced by Sandra Bullock and Jeff Goldblum), who reveal to him his slave heritage. This truth is too much for the young man; without explanation, he leaves his father's kingdom behind, unsure of his destiny.
For the animators, envisioning a story set in ancient Egypt seems to have been like discovering a treasure-filled mummy's tomb. The majestic Egyptian city, with its oversize temples and skyscraping statues, looks like an elaborate chessboard, with pieces which may have been laid there by the hands of the Gods themselves. The rich color in the temples' hypostyle halls, the painted limestone reliefs, the glare of the unforgiving sunlight -- all details which pull us into the reality of that beautiful place.
Moses' journey eventually brings him into contact with God Himself, who empowers him to return to his kingdom and let his people go. The miracles Moses helps bring about, from the invasion of swarms of insects to the fiery finger of God, dazzle with a beauty which is believable without being photorealistic. And let's not forget _the_ miracle -- the parting of the Red Sea -- which features astounding, breathtaking visual effects.
Though Moses finds love and marriage in the desert, the film is really more interested in the relationship between him and Rameses. The latter experiences a tragic fall due to his own blindness, but his caring for his brother remains solid throughout the film. And so, Rameses becomes one of the most sympathizable "bad guys" ever to be depicted in an animated movie.
So who is the audience for this film? The way the story is told, a person need not be familiar with nor even believe in the Biblical stories to be moved by it. Younger children can sit through the film and not be fully aware of the scope of the horrors being inferred. Inspiring and transporting, _The Prince of Egypt_ is an experience believers and non-believers alike should not miss.
GRADE: A-
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews