We Are Together

I recently watched the docu-film on channel four "We Are Together" - the story of the Children of Agape. It was crafted sensitively and beautifully and refrained from becoming a typical Oxfam-esque appeal to the wealthy nations. The film followed the lives of the children at Agape - an orphanage in South Africa.

"Agape was founded by a lady called Gogo "Grandma" Zodwa. She was working as an HIV counselor and found that many of the people she was counseling expressed deep concern about what would happen to their children when they were no longer around. So Zodwa established Agape to look after these children. Agape has had a tumultuous journey, but under Zodwa’s loving guidance it continues to grow stronger. Agape is a Greek word meaning “unconditional love”, which is exactly what the children at Agape receive." (http://wearetogether.org/children/)


Grandma Zodwa noted that she wanted to show these children the unconditional love of God that everyone deserves. This was not a story of destitution and lives torn apart, but a quiet observation of orphaned children getting on with life as they know it. The hope-inspiring twist to this tale is the music. Singing, as naturally as breathing, takes place morning, noon and night in the orphanage. The children formed a choir and together they express their love, hope, dreams and sorrow through the songs they sing. They have no written music, no instruments and no accompaniment. They simply sing - and they are fabulous. The man who conducts the children said that, "We cannot all speak at once but we can all sing." How true.

It is this gift of music that has provided significant funding and hope for Agape. The orphanage was destroyed in a fire and the centre lost everything it had. However, the children were invited to perform in New York with Alecia Keys and they recorded an album. I thought that perhaps given this opportunity they would get a big band and make their album a stunning, technical, musical masterpiece. Thankfully they recorded only their voices, keeping the album as pure and true as the gift they have been given. The money from this was used to raise a new centre which could house even more children than before. It was a truly moving piece. There was no narration, special effects, fancy camera work or significant bias. The cameras merely recorded and reflected real life. I would encourage anybody to download some of their music from iTunes or buy it online. Watch the DVD and you will understand it even better. In the title track from the album, "We Are Together" the children sing, "We are together, we are family." This is what Agape provides along with unconditional love - a family.

Thankyou Lord for the gift of music and the hope that it brings.

Exodus

Last night I finally got around to watching 'Exodus' - the television film directed by Penny Woolcock based on the second book of the Old Testament. I am at the best of times sceptical of bible-to-film productions especially where they are rearranged in to a 21st Century context. After watching the film my initial thoughts were as follows:

- The setting, visual elements and cinematography were brilliantly done. It had a very apocalyptic feel to it. The use of amateur actors, especially those with special needs, was wonderfully effective.

- It was far too long and the script was poor. Film-wise it was on the same wave as Titanic, too much time for not a lot to happen.

I did a little research of the piece on the net to see what other people thought and found a review from the Telegraph saying this:

"More surprisingly still, Woolcock retained the central religious element of the original version – although not in a way that religious viewers will necessarily have found comfortable. Indeed, by sticking so close to the biblical story, Exodus reminded us just how brutal that story is. "

Source:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/11/20/nosplit/bvtv20last.xml

This brings me to my third thought regarding the film which is this: The whole production completely misrepresented and betrayed the relationship between Moses and God. When reading the bible it was clear to me exactly how direct God was with Moses. God appeared to Moses in a face-to-face encounter and throughout the story there is a conversation going on between them. The relationship portrayed in the film was far too subtle and indirect. The whimsical voices gently speaking to Moses were nothing like the powerful experiences depicted in the bible. Not once in this film did Moses fall to the ground in fear.

I always allow room for creative licence but I didn't feel that in this case it was justified. Interestingly, I wonder if this is why the article above stated that 'religious viewers' (whoever they might be) may have found it uncomfortable. If by 'retaining the central religious element' they mean that yes, God was mentioned once or twice and his presence merely hinted at then they are clearly mistaken. The main point of God being in this story is that He leads his people to freedom and how He uses a mediocre guy like Moses to lead an entire nation out of slavery through deep political minefields and what could be classed as spiritual warfare. The film portrayed Moses as the hero and showed very little input from God which I found altogether disappointing.

However, despite that slight setback, the film did mange to bring some reality to the story for me. It can at times be very difficult to make even such a powerful bible story come alive when simply reading it. Through the film my eyes were opened to to exactly how intense the whole experience was for the people and for Moses. It is tempting to think of him as the Great Leader of the Israelites, wandering around with a staff and a beard being very docile throughout the whole thing. The film helped me to capture the reality of his plight including his role as a father and husband along with the frustrations of leading a people who were volatile and zealous.

Although the film may have been a successful political statement regarding terrorism, 21st Century warfare and the treatment of refugees in Britain today, in my opinion, it could not be classed as an accurate reflection of the biblical story it sought to portray.

Did anyone see it and think otherwise?