Thank you Cinedigm for sending us this DVD to review!
Our family has watched many faith-based movies and most of them show the biblical figures as upright, holy, and serious. While those films don’t stray from the Bible and teach valuable lessons, they are often hard to relate to in modern times. Noah’s Ark (which originally aired on BBC television) changes that formula by telling a well-known story with a modern twist and personable characters. Although Noah was close to 600 years old (Gen 7:6), he is shown as being a fit man who joins his sons (Ham, Shem, Japeth) in diving, swimming, rough housing and some joking around.
Besides the added dialog, there are some new characters brought into the story including an adopted son named Kenan. Ham, Shem, and Japeth are all married though having grandkids is a little challenging for them since everyone is all living and sleeping in close proximity. Some of the couples are discussing the lack of privacy and the need to move out to start their own families. Kenan is nearly eighteen and falls in love with a non-believing girl in the nearby town. He sneaks out to go partying with her almost every night.
The townspeople are shown as evil with implied pedophilia and valuing science over an all-powerful and loving God. Some of the arguments made by the townspeople are the same as those used by modern day skeptics. Instead of being told directly by God (Gen 6:13), an angelic messenger is sent to Noah to build an ark for the upcoming flood.
I love how this film depicts his family’s (realistic) reactions to such a bold mission. Having not seen rainfall in over a year, the family is doubtful to say the least. Noah keeps his faith and embarks on building the ark on his own. His family slowly comes around, but when Noah tries to warn the townspeople, they nearly kill him. Some do come around and join him on the ark before the storm comes. A couple of Bible discrepancies include Genesis 7:7 stating that it was only Noah’s family onboard, and God shut the ark’s door (Gen 7:16) instead of Noah.