Based on the book of Exodus in the Bible, the film tells the story of the 13th century BC, the Hebrew refugees who were enslaved by the Egyptian king Pharaoh and left Egypt under the protection of the Hebrew God and the son of God, Moses. Return to the story of Canaan.
The film is full of religious overtones, but also full of human entanglement. Humanity and divinity meet in Moses. Moses, the son of the Hebrews, became the prince of Egypt by chance after the king of Egypt slaughtered the Hebrew baby boy to consolidate his kingship.
The magnificent temple of the Egyptian royal palace, the tart marks oozing blood from the Hebrew slaves... When Moses learned about his true life from the frescoes (the biggest highlight of the film), and realized that his fine clothes and food were all based on the suffering of the people, he the world collapsed.
Moses fled in a panic. What he escaped was not just the crime of killing the Egyptian overseer, but his compassion for the Hebrew relatives and the brotherhood of the regent Ramses. And it is precisely because of this dual identity that God chose Moses.
In Midian, a paradise in the desert wilderness, the life insights of priest Jethro and the tenderness of his wife Zipporah healed Moses, the incorruptible thorns and the almighty Hebrew God awakened Moses. By this time he had become a staunch leader of the Heber slaves.
In the face of the family offensive and military deterrence of the new Egyptian king Ramses, Moses no longer hesitated, and he wanted to take his Hebrew compatriots out of slavery. However, Moses' advice and admonitions could not overcome the stubbornness of the Egyptian king, and only allowed God to send ten plagues.
The Hebrews followed Moses, on the one hand, because of the miracles on the handle of his rod, and on the other hand, the belief in the "promised land" buried deep in the hearts of the Jewish people. Splitting paths in the Red Sea, looking for water in the desert... They ran to the "beautiful and vast land flowing with milk and honey".
In the end, the film freezes at the point where the Hebrews exodus from Egypt solemnly look up at Moses on Mount Sinai who embraces the "Ten Commandments". Since then, the word "Hebrew" has rarely appeared in the Bible, replaced by "Israel".
Perhaps, the broader meaning of the film is to inspire people to think: Why do they still believe that they are "God's chosen people" after having experienced many massacres and persecutions without their own country and territory for more than 3,000 years? Perhaps through this section of the Diary of a Nation, we can better understand the dreams, achievements, regrets, and ways of coping with challenges of Israelis today.
"I feel that man's life should be deeply rooted somewhere in the homeland, where it can acquire this tender and tender love: love there for the earth, love the work of the people there, love the sounds and accents that linger there , love can clearly distinguish the homeland of early years from everything that will be learned and learned in the future; whenever the vivid memory of the purpose and the past come to my mind, it will be intertwined with longing."
--George Eliot, "Daniel Deronda"
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