The faith-based movie The Young Messiah imagines a year in Jesus’ life when he was seven years old. Based on Christ The Lord: Out of Egypt”by acclaimed and bestselling novelist Anne Rice, The Young Messiah brings to life Mary (Sara Lazzaro), Joseph (Vincent Walsh) and seven-year-old Jesus (Adam Greaves-Neal) while they embark on a journey from Egypt to Nazareth after Jesus miraculously brings someone back to life. When King Herod (Jonathan Bailey) orders the death of the child, Roman centurion Severus (Sean Bean) starts to pursue the family across the desert. As Mary and Joseph worry about his safety, Jesus’ natural curiosity allows him to understand more about the world and his remarkable powers.
Anne Rice, known for her highly successful The Vampire Chronicles that became phenomenal blockbuster movies such as Interview with the Vampire that starred Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise has written the novel Christ The Lord: Out of Egypt back in 1998.
In her book which the movie was based upon, she reveals her own imagination of what the young Jesus may have been like based on his adult character traits as written in the Bible. In a post on her Facebook page, Rice is thrilled when she finally saw the trailer of the movie, “This is the film based on my novel, Christ the Lord Out of Egypt. And I support it with all my heart. The writing, the directing, the cast — are an author’s dream of fidelity to the spirit of the book, and the book’s concerns for biblical and historical accuracy. I’m so happy to share this.”
Cyrus Nowrasteh who directed and wrote the film with his wife Betsy revealed that filming The Young Messiah was the most humbling experience of his career after his acclaimed films such as The Stoning of Soraya M (2008) and television productions like the ABC miniseries The Path to 9/11 (2006). Both Cyrus and Betsy are Christians.
Remaining true to the character of Jesus as revealed in the Bible, The Young Messiah is an inspirational story about the childhood of the Savior. It is for the whole family and the world. When the mystery of Jesus’ divinity began to unfold in His early years, He turns to His parents for answers. But Mary and Joseph, in an effort to protect their child, are afraid to reveal all they know. How do you explain the ways of the world to its Creator? How do you teach the Teacher? How do you help the Savior who came to save you?
Nowrasteh on the other hand, shares what inspired him on making the movie, “It all started from the novel by Anne Rice. In the epilogue of one of the paperback editions, she goes into some detail about her sources. But I felt, in adapting this to film, we needed to re-examine all of that stuff. It’s a beautiful story. I read the book and thought it was about as fresh and original a take on the Jesus story as I’d ever read. For me, it’s all about the story, it’s all about the narrative—it’s all about a sense of wonder through the eyes of this very special child. The whole heritage of biblical movies had never touched upon Jesus as a child. And I thought: “If I do this right, it could be an extraordinary little film.”
Adam, who portrays Jesus, just nine years old at the time he was cast, approached this monumental role the only way he could without feeling overwhelmed. He explains, “To me, I don’t think about it being ‘Jesus.’ I just think, I’m a boy that can do good and surprising things.”
The Young Messiah also stars Sean Bean and will finally open in cinemas on June 15 from Pioneer Films.