Series Review: Messiah. Director: Michael Petroni.
Normally, we claim a person to be unconventional or eccentric, when they do something extraordinarily wonderful, or extraordinarily abysmal; and in both cases, there is an extraordinariness, a noteworthiness in those deeds. There was an extraordinariness in Lord Voldemort as well as Albus Dumbledore (from the Harry Potter universe). This leads to the next, obvious corollary: is something unconventional when we are overwhelmed by it or when we don't understand it? 'Messiah' streaming on Netflix, directed by Michael Petroni raises this question.
Spanning across Syria, Israel and The United States of America where different religions are followed, people from Syria are obsessed and in love with Al-Masih, a young messenger of God who performs miracles and saves the multitude when the ISIS commits atrocities in Syria and leads them to the border of Syria-Israel. The Israelis are tense because of the sudden ingress of thousands of Syrians on the border, under the tutelage of a harmless young man who only claims to spread love and erase hate. As the news reaches America, the CIA gets involved and thus begins the search for the true identity of Al-Masih, the self-proclaimed and multitude affirmed messenger of God and apostle of love.
At the outset, 'Messiah' only appears to be a series based on a political premise, but it's a lot more than that. Having a total length of ten episodes, with each episode ranging to about an hour or so, every episode is based on a verse from The Bible. The quest of the protagonists in search of Al-Masih on the one hand and the love and support he garners from the world on the other, makes their search even more difficult, and hence increases the 'thrill and chill' quotient, and the show becomes extremely intriguing. The show is sure to capture the attention of the audience.
A politico-religious-philosophy themed thriller, 'Messiah' touches all the chords and everything about the show, right from the cliffhanger endings to the music selection, is absolutely spot-on! Since 'Messiah' is an entirely originally conceived series, and is not based on any book or play, the authenticity of the idea to present a contemporary Messiah backed by a soul stirring script and relevant direction is nothing short of amazing. The modern day world has diverse takes on religion, but religion was something people clung to in the times of yore, for a simple reason that there were no laws and religious scriptures were the only closest embodiment to law. The clashes between the religious scriptures and the codified contemporary laws, and the leaning of the majority towards the former makes the audience think whether humanity is heading towards the past, or is clinging to it harder so as to not lose hope?
The human element of the series is portrayed by the difference in the ideologies of the CIA and the Israeli intelligence as they work together to unravel the identity of Al-Masih. The Israeli intelligence perceives the CIA to be a nosy entity, with not a job to do, and the latter does not want to leave any stone unturned so as to satisfy the President. As the characters come closer to discovering who Al-Masih really is, they also discover themselves. The unexpected psychological angle given to the series is fascinating.
The series has over 169 artises (including lead, villains and side) and special mention needs to be given to Mehdi Dehbi, who plays the agent of chaos Al-Masih, Tomer Sisley who plays the Israeli Intelligence Officer, Aviram Dehan and legendary actors like Dermot Mulroney and Beau Bridges who have small, yet rip-roaring roles in the show. All of these performances are poignant. The theme of the show as well as the fast pace, leaves little room for profanity and obscenity making the show quite fit for a mature family audience.
While shows like 'The New Pope' (sequel to 'The Young Pope', read the full review of 'The Young Pope' here: https://bff-anewdimension.blogspot.com/2020/07/series-review-young-pope-director-paolo.html) explored world politics, religion and humanism vis-a-vis The Vatican, 'Messiah' seeks to do the same without any point of reference.
The show raises many questions:
What are the borders between nations compared with the borders around our hearts?
What is the greater good?
What is anarchy? Who is the real anarchist?
What is good and what is bad, and why is the good the good and the bad the bad?
Overall, 'Messiah' is an accomplishment because it offers so much perspective and goes above and beyond a thriller. It is worth every minute of the audience's time and a definite worthwatch.
MY TAKE: 9/10.
For more under-rated content, please subscribe to: https://bff-anewdimension.blogspot.com/
Images Courtesy: Google.
Very Beautifully explained and deep research on the topic 👍🏻 Keep it up 💯
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work. I am yet to finish From the holy mountain which I was motivated to invest after reading your review but once done, will be looking forward to watch this. :)
ReplyDelete