Exodus: Gods and Kings – Plot & Spoilers
(Wikipedia)
In 1300 BCE, Moses, a
general and member of the royal family, prepares to attack the Hittite army
with Prince Ramses. Ramses' father Seti I tells the two men of a recent
prophecy in which one (of Moses and Ramses) will save the other and become a
leader. During the attack on the Hittites, Moses saves Ramses' life, leaving
both men troubled.
Later, Moses is sent
to the city of Pithom to meet with the Viceroy Hegep, who oversees the Hebrew
slaves. Upon his arrival, he encounters the slave Joshua and is appalled by the
horrific conditions of the slaves. Shortly afterwards, Moses meets Nun, who
informs him of his true lineage; he is the child of Hebrew parents who was sent
by his sister Miriam to be raised by Pharaoh's daughter. Moses is stunned at
the revelation and leaves angrily. However, two Hebrews also overhear Nun's
story and reports their discovery to Hegep.
Seti dies soon after
Moses' return to Memphis, and Ramses becomes the new Pharaoh (Ramses II). Hegep
arrives to reveal Moses' true identity, but Ramses is conflicted about whether
to believe the story. At the urging of Queen Tuya, he interrogates the servant
Miriam, who denies being Moses' sister. When Ramses threatens to cut off
Miriam's arm, Moses comes to her defence, revealing he is a Hebrew.
Although Tuya wants
Moses to be put to death, Ramses decides to send him into exile. Before leaving
Egypt, Moses meets with his birth mother and Miriam, who refer to him by his
birth name of Moishe. Following a journey into the desert, Moses comes to
Midian where he meets Zipporah and her father, Jethro. Moses becomes a
shepherd, marries Zipporah and has a son Gershom.
Nine years later,
Moses gets injured during a rockslide. He comes face to face with a burning
bush and a boy called Malak, who serves as a representation of God. While
recovering, Moses confesses his past to Zipporah and reveals what God has asked
him to do. This drives a wedge between the couple, because Zipporah fears he
will leave their family.
After he arrives in
Egypt, Moses reunites with Nun and Joshua, as well as meeting his brother Aaron
for the first time. Using his military skills, he trains the slaves in the art
of war. The Hebrews start attacking the Egyptians, prompting Ramses to execute
slaves until Moses gives himself up.
Malak appears to
Moses and explains that ten plagues will affect Egypt. All the water in the
land turns to blood, and the Egyptians are further afflicted by the arrival of
frogs, lice, and flies. Moses returns to confront Ramses, demanding the Hebrews
be released from servitude. Ramses refuses to listen, insisting that to free
the slaves would be economically impossible.
The plagues of the
death of livestock, boils, hail and thunder, locusts, and darkness continue to
affect the Egyptians. While conversing with Malak, Moses is horrified at
learning the tenth plague will be the death of all firstborn children. The
Hebrews protect themselves by covering their doors with the blood of lambs, as
instructed to them by Moses. Ramses is devastated over his son's death and
relents, telling Moses and the Hebrews to leave.
During the exodus
from Egypt, the Hebrews follow Moses' original path through the desert and
towards the Red Sea. Still grieving for his son, Ramses decides to go after the
Hebrews with his army.
After making their
way across the rocky mountains, Moses and the Hebrews arrive at the edge of the
sea, uncertain about what to do. Moses flings his sword into the water, which
begins to recede. Ramses and his army pursue the Hebrews, but Moses stays
behind to confront them. The Red Sea reverts to its normal state, drowning the
majority of the Egyptians (crossing the Red Sea).
Moses survives and
makes his way back to the Hebrews. Ramses is revealed to have survived, but he
is distraught over the destruction of his army. Moses leads the Hebrews back to
Midian, where he reunites with Zipporah and Gershom.
At Mount Sinai, after
seeing Malak's displeasure at the Hebrews' construction of the Golden Calf,
Moses transcribes the Ten Commandments. Years later, an elderly Moses riding
with the Ark of the Covenant sees Malak walking with the Hebrews through the
desert.
Main inaccuracies from Islamic texts:
- The film misses out the birth story except a short narration of it and misses the related miracle of the Nile.
- We don’t see the staff of Moses (except a small scene where he gives it to his son)!
- The (accidental) death of the Egyptian by Moses is wrongly portrayed
- Moses flees Egypt on foot when he is a wanted terrorist but the film exiles him on horse
- Moses spends 10 years in Madian before wanting to return to Egypt with his family. He encounters with the Burning Bush was whilst travelling with the family – all wrong in the film.
- The whole Burning Bush is wrong with no staff-snake, taking off shoes and of course God appearing as a little boy and the boy later being a ‘messenger’
- Joshua (Yusha) is portrayed as a contemporary of Moses in the film whereas he took over as leader of Bani Israel after the death of Musa
- Moses had a speech impediment in Islamic texts
- Moses asks Allah to appoint Harun as his helper not introduced accidentally as his brother when he arrives back in Egypt as in the film
- Moses never trains his people to fight an insurgency against Pharaoh like the film suggests
- The film sees Pharaoh hanging families of Bani Israel but our texts talk about him killing the children of Bani Israel as a punishment
- There is no competition between Moses/Harun and the Pharaoh’s magicians at all.
- The plagues / signs are in the wrong order and are not each time linked to a demand for freeing the slaves
- Missing some signs and the implication that the signs also affected Bani Israel as much as the Egyptians in the film
- The death of the first born is not explicit in the Islamic texts although marking the houses is mentioned
- Moses and Bani Israel leave at night after Moses realises Pharaoh will never change or allow them to leave, not a parade as portrayed in the film
- Parting of the sea was miraculous with the staff not a sword thrown to dry up the river. The ground of the river was dried in Islamic texts
- Pharaoh died in the river as the water collapsed upon him and Moses was safely on the other side with all his people in our texts
- Moses is seen making the Ten Commandments himself but Islam implies they were written by God
- Most of the story of Moses and Bani Israel in the wilderness is missed out (doesn’t matter as the film was about the ‘Exodus’ more than the life of Moses)
- Moses never doubted his mission and his purpose, nor his firm belief in God in Islamic texts
Cinematic issues
Much like some other
Ridley Scott films, this is a rather bleak film and has a negative strand
throughout the film. Even the victory doesn’t feel like a victory throughout
the film! Nevertheless, well shot and the acting is decent, although not great.
I’m not sure Bale (Moses) is quite clear of his Batman persona!! Also, Moses is
portrayed as an imperfect / flawed hero (possibly charismatic but mad).
Also, written for a
secular audience from a secular (non-religious) perspective with the
implication that Moses was a mortal man and undertook the actions of himself
without guidance from God. It could easily be interpreted that he suffered from
hallucinations (following his fall) and was blinded in his vision and wrote the
Ten Commandments himself by his own hand following further hallucinations (like
a charismatic schizophrenic). Hence, the ‘plagues’ are given a ‘scientific’
interpretation!
Some have also
objected to the portrayal of Egyptians and Bani Israel by white Europeans, but
this is only partially true. Egyptian art depicts Egyptians as red, Nubians as
brown, and Semites (like Jews) as yellow.
There is no foul
language. There is no sex in the film but two scenes with kisses (after the
marriage and at the end), although there are a number of scantily clad Egyptian
women. It is not surprising that the story of the Exodus is violent, but the
violence is graphic at times. Moses is engaged in several fights and battles
which involve blood and even some gore, but the most graphic scenes involve the
director’s envisioning of the plague of blood and other plagues.
Major inaccuracies from Biblical story (from
Christian websites):
Set in 1300BCE, the
pyramids were built before this and not thought that the Hebrews built the
pyramids. Ramses was not the Pharaoh of the Exodus as one Biblical reference places
the Exodus almost 150 years before Ramses. This is important because the
archaeological evidence supports an Exodus in the 15th century before Christ,
but offers no support for an Exodus under Ramses.
Theological points in
the Biblical plagues have been removed for the film version, there are fewer
than ten plagues in the film, the plagues themselves are of a different nature
(alligators, for example), and the Israelites were afflicted by the plagues along
with the Egyptians.
The film portrays
only nine years between Moses’ exile and his return. Moses is shown killing the
guard in self defense. Moses is around 40 years old when he leads the Exodus. Moses
is thought to be a true Egyptian by all in the Egyptian court, and a host of
others.
Although Moses argued
with God in the Bible, the movie clearly portrays Moses’s wrestling with God on
a more cynical level. He also tends to shout rather than stutter as Jewish
tradition recounts.
Most intriguing is
that he only meets Pharaoh twice face to face before the death of the
first-born children. In the first encounter, Moses pulls a sword on Ramses and
threatens him. He does not say “Let my people go,” but speaks of his own
authority as a rebel leader. He spends much of the movie hiding from Pharaoh,
and he even tries to lead a military revolt before God intervenes. The
depiction of Moses leading a war of attrition against Egypt.
God is portrayed as a
little boy. He first appears standing in front of the burning bush and appears at
recurring points in the film.
The miracles are made
to look more like natural phenomenon
