Polycarp

Before writing this review I checked Wikipedia out for Polycarp and found his birth and death years. He was a remarkable 86 years old when he was martyred and I have to say that Garry Nation who did a fine job in this film in the title role did not look anything like 86.

This is not a linear biography of Polycarp of Smyrna. The film is seen through the eyes of Aliya Hunt who was bought at a slave market as a child and the life of Polycarp in his final dozen years or so is seen through her eyes.

Hunt is bought by Christians at the market to be set free and raised within the community. Back then they really believed it took a village. Head of the growing but still persecuted Christian community is Polycarp the bishop. Now he's revered as one of the founders of the Eastern Orthodox church.

Until Emperor Constantine became a Christian, Rome alternately relaxed and persecuted religious minorities. The current governor of Smyrna Gary Boesek has decided to turn up the heat particularly on the point of now worshiping Caesar as a god. Not something Polycarp can tolerate.

This was a good film and well cast. I would also like to single out for praise Rusty Martin as teenage Germanicus, a kid who enters martyrdom in the arena. It's a simple, unaffected, and moving bit of acting.

Polycarp should get more than church basement showings.

I think it was a well done story from the perspective of Anna. However, the writers went out of their way to ignore the fact that Ploycarp was a bishop. Like it or not, he was a prominent figure of authority in the early Christian community. The writers took extraordinary efforts to ignore this reality. Instead Polycarp was depicted as some generic martyr when he was an institutional standard bearer, a bishop of the Church. How sad. This movie would have been enriched by telling the full story, not deliberately leaving it out. Polycarp was first a bishop, and only later a martyr. The first half was ignored. How disappointing. The writers and directors should read the texts and histories, especially the Roman martyrology!

An exceptional historical depiction of believers who remain steadfast in the face of persecution and hardship. This movie will cause you to reflect on how you would choose to defend your belief and stand for God regardless of the consequences.

A young slave girl is adopted by Polycarp, an early proponent of the Christian faith. Although well intended, I found the acting wooden and the Roman soldiers seem to be playing dress up in their Trojan attire. Polycarp looked like Charlton Heston from the 1960's Biblical epics. This has the production values of a Lifetime movie.

If you are looking for stunning visual effects and dramatic action sequences, this may not be the film for you. However, if you, like me, are looking for moving, challenging Christian films with a strong message and deep, engaging characters, you couldn't find better. The CGI is imperfect, as may be expected considering the budget they had to work with, but does come across as cheesy or phony looking-- just a little fuzzy. The acting is excellent and the script could not be better. The characters are engaging and the set is fantastic. I only hope the Henlines make more films soon because they are masters of historical fiction.