Some things about this movie are very good. The producers of "Polycarp" did a fine job in researching and creating a set with props that reflected the customs and culture of the second century Mediterranean world. The food, costumes, and market looked authentic for the period. The casting included most of the main characters known from Polycarp's circle - especially Germanicus and Irenaeus. And the acting was mostly very good, especially by Garry Nation as Polycarp and Eliya Hurt as Anna. Others seemed hesitant or hammy, such as Curt Cloninger's overly ebullient Elias.
The screenplay accurately reflects the key characters around Polycarp when he lived as bishop of Smyrna. And the script includes actual dialog attributed to the saint and early martyr. A letter of early 156 A.D. from the Church of Smyrna to the Christians in Philomelium gives the details of Polycarp's martyrdom. In it, after Proconsul Statius Quadratus said he would spare Polycarp's life if he would deny Christ and worship Caesar, Polycarp replied, "For six and eighty years I have been serving Him, and he has done no wrong to me; how, then, dare I blaspheme my King who has saved me!"
Having done that good a job in researching Polycarp for the film, it's surprising that the makers then stopped short. Some key things are omitted and others glanced over about the saint and his life in Smyrna. Other reviewers have mentioned the lack of reference to him as the bishop of Smyrna. He was a disciple of the apostle, John, who appointed him bishop of Smyrna. Where the film shows a small family unit around Polycarp, his flock would have been large. The city was a thriving port and trading center, a key Roman city that very early had a large Christian population. The theater stadium of Smyrna seated 20,000 people.
The film shows Polycarp being burned at the stake. In the account of his martyrdom, he had refrained from having his feet nailed down for the burning. And, when the flames did not go near his body, the proconsul ordered him to be pierced with a lance.
But the most obvious thing that is missing is any semblance of the "breaking of bread," or Eucharistic celebration. The film shows a small group sitting at table to eat, with Polycarp offering a prayer. This would have been the agape meal. But then, it completely skips the breaking of bread observance, the Lord's Supper, afterwards. Besides the Biblical origins of the Lord's Supper, numerous references describe the practice that many of the early church fathers attest to in their writings.
This short list of good information sources is for those who may be interested in learning more about this. "The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church," the "Evangelical Dictionary of Theology," the "Oxford Companion to the Bible," the Protestant "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia," the "Encyclopedia of Early Christianity," "The Didache," and the "New Catholic Encyclopedia."
