His Only Son

Last updated
His Only Son
HisOnlySonPoster.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDavid Helling
Written byDavid Helling
Based on The Bible
Produced by
  • David Helling
  • Roman Medjanov
  • Mike Kaney II
Starring
  • Nicolas Mouawad
  • Sara Seyed
  • Ottavio Taddei
  • Nicolai Perez
  • Edaan Moskowitz
  • Daniel da Silva
CinematographyNick Walker
Edited byDavid Helling
Music byJordain Wallace
Production
company
RockBridge Productions
Distributed by Angel Studios
Release date
  • March 31, 2023 (2023-03-31)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$250,000 [1]
Box office$13.8 million [2] [3]

His Only Son is a 2023 American biblical drama film produced, edited, written and directed by David Helling. Primarily set in Canaan, the film centers on the account from Genesis 22 in the Old Testament when the Lord tells Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, on Mount Moriah. The film stars Nicolas Mouawad as Abraham, Sara Seyed as Sarah, Edaan Moskowitz as Isaac, and Daniel da Silva as the Lord, alongside Ottavio Taddei and Nicolai Perez. It was released in the United States on March 31, 2023.

Contents

Plot

In 2,000 BC, in Canaan, the Lord calls Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, as a burnt offering on the mountain of Moriah. Bidding goodbye to his wife Sarah, Abraham takes two of his servants, Kelzar, the son of the chief servant Eliezer of Damascus, and Eshcolam, a Pelishtiy, with him and Isaac. Forty years earlier, in 2,040 BC, Abraham–then as Abram–tells his wife Sarah–then as Sarai–that he sees the Lord God, who instructs him to go to a land the Lord God will show him and promises to make of him a great nation, leaving his home, Ur Kasdim.

In the present, on the road to Hebron, the group encounters several Pelishtiy guards of Abimelech, king of Pelesheth. The Pelishtiys leave the group alone after Abraham reveals himself as Abram, who is acquainted with King Abimelech. At camp, Abraham tells the event of how he leads his shepherds to defeat the kings from Shinar in the east, saving Sodomite captives which include Abraham's family. Abraham also discusses the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah due to wickedness with the group.

Throughout the journey, Abraham recalls the Lord's promise of land and descendants and how Sarai advises Abram to go to Egypt during a famine. Approaching Hebron, Abraham remembers the Lord's covenant with him of a son as an heir. Abraham reminisces how he tells Sarai the Lord's covenant with him, leading to Abram sleeping with Sarai's Egyptian maid, Hagar, to bear children at Sarai's request and Hagar being pregnant then giving birth to Ishmael, Abram's firstborn son, at Hebron, creating contention between Abram, Sarai, and Hagar.

At night, after talking over the symbol of sacrifices; the holiness of God; being blind to sin; faith; his experience of God; the penalty of death; and God's mind, ways, thoughts, and purpose with the group, Abraham bargains with the Lord to take his life, not Isaac's. Entering Ephrathah, Abraham recounts the Pelishtiys taking Sarah into the harem of King Abimelech and how the Lord plagues both the house and the people of Abimelech, thus giving back Sarah to Abraham and repaying with wealth and servants. Following Eshcolam's animosity towards Abraham and Kelzar's intervention, the group confronts the Pelishtiy guards again, who ask for tithes and then leave them, injuring both Abraham and Isaac. On the ground, Abraham reminisces about meeting with three visitors and the Lord renaming Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah, promising him a child named Isaac.

Arriving at Moriah, Abraham takes Isaac with him to the mountain. Isaac asks Abraham where the lamb is, to which Abraham responds of the Lord God's provision. Looking back to Sarah's pregnancy to Isaac and Isaac's birth, Abraham reveals to Isaac that Isaac is the sacrifice. Isaac reluctantly complies with Abraham, and Abraham binds Isaac. As Abraham is about to sacrifice Isaac, the Lord tells Abraham to spare Isaac, and Abraham sees a ram as a substitute for sacrifice. Abraham then declares the Lord will provide. The Lord repeats his promise to Abraham as Abraham has not withheld Isaac from the Lord.

2,000 years later, in 30 AD, the Roman centurion at the cross acknowledges the crucified Jesus as the Son of God.

Cast

Production

His Only Son is the debut film from writer/director David Helling, a former United States Marine. The film was made in 2019 and took five years to make. [4] The movie was filmed entirely outside on set in California. [5]

Release

The film's producers partnered with Angel Studios for distribution and crowdfunded over $1.23 million for its March 2023 theatrical release. [6] It is the first nationwide theatrical release to ever be crowdfunded. [7] His Only Son was released in theaters on March 31, 2023, and will subsequently be made available for streaming on Angel Studios. [8]

Reception

Box office

His Only Son has grossed $12.3 million in the domestically and $1.4 million in the internationally, for a worldwide total of $13.8 million

Released alongside A Thousand and One , Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves , and the wide expansion of A Good Person , the film made $2.2 million on its first day and went to debut on $5.5 million from 1,920 theaters in its opening weekend, finishing in third. [9]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 83% based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. [10] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it a 93% positive score, with 83% saying they would definitely recommend it. [9]

Collin Garbarino of WORLD gave the film a score of 3/5, saying, "Despite the movie's limitations, the journey with Abraham might be worth taking." [11] Jackie K. Cooper gave the film a rating of 6/10, saying that it was, "A good presentation of the Abraham/Isaac bible story, perfectly timed for the Easter crowd." [12] Michael Foust of Crosswalk.com gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, writing, "His Only Son has an authentic, ancient Middle Eastern look and feel. The landscapes are dusty. The people are dirty (as they should be after walking for three straight days). It's a thought-provoking film with more than a few powerful scenes." [13] Carla Hay of Culture Mix rated the film "fresh" and called it a "worthy, low-budget drama. "The depiction of Abraham's troubled marriage gives this reverent movie some grit." Hay wrote. [14]

Roger Moore of Movie Nation was highly critical of the film, giving it 1.5/4 and saying, "There's a reason others have filmed the Abraham/Isaac story, but always left it as merely a chapter in the larger narrative of 'The Bible…In the Beginning' or 'The Greatest Story Ever Told.' It's just a vivid but short anecdote, not material for an epic." [15]

Criticism

Tubagus Ace Hasan Syadzily, a member of the Indonesian House of Representatives, requested that the film be banned in Indonesia because the plot did not match the story of Ibrahim in Islam, despite the storyline being based on the Bible. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham</span> Hebrew patriarch according to the Hebrew Bible

Abraham is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jews and God; in Christianity, he is the spiritual progenitor of all believers, whether Jewish or non-Jewish; and in Islam, he is a link in the chain of Islamic prophets that begins with Adam and culminates in Muhammad. As the namesake of the Abrahamic religions, Abraham is also revered in other Abrahamic religions, such as Druze Faith and Baháʼí Faith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac</span> Biblical patriarch, son of Abraham and Sarah

Isaac is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in which he is the son of Abraham and Sarah, the father of Jacob and Esau, and the grandfather of the twelve tribes of Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terah</span> Figure in the Hebrew Bible; son of Nahor

Terah or Terach is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis. He is listed as the son of Nahor and father of the patriarch Abraham. As such, he is a descendant of Shem's son Arpachshad. Terah is mentioned in Genesis 11:26–27, Book of Joshua 24:2, and 1 Chronicles 1:17–27 of the Hebrew Bible and Luke 3:34–36 in the New Testament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moriah</span> Location in the Book of Genesis

Moriah is the name given to a mountainous region in the Book of Genesis, where the binding of Isaac by Abraham is said to have taken place. Jews identify the region mentioned in Genesis and the specific mountain in which the near-sacrifice is said to have occurred with "Mount Moriah", mentioned in the Book of Chronicles as the place where Solomon's Temple is said to have been built, and both these locations are also identified with the current Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Samaritan Torah, on the other hand, transliterates the place mentioned for the binding of Isaac as Moreh, a name for the region near modern-day Nablus. It is believed by the Samaritans that the near-sacrifice actually took place on Mount Gerizim, near Nablus in the West Bank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Binding of Isaac</span> Story from the Hebrew Bible

The Binding of Isaac, or simply "The Binding", is a story from chapter 22 of the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. In the biblical narrative, God orders Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac at Moriah. As Abraham begins to comply, having bound Isaac to an altar, he is stopped by the Angel of the Lord; a ram appears and is slaughtered in Isaac's stead, as God commends Abraham's pious obedience to offer his son as a human sacrifice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah</span> Biblical character

Sarah is a biblical matriarch, prophet, and major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious woman, renowned for her hospitality and beauty, the wife and half-sister of Abraham, and the mother of Isaac. Sarah has her feast day on 1 September in the Catholic Church, 19 August in the Coptic Orthodox Church, 20 January in the LCMS, and 12 and 20 December in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ishmael</span> Figure in the Abrahamic religions

In the biblical Book of Genesis, Ishmael was the first son of Abraham. His mother was Hagar, the handmaiden of Abraham's wife Sarah. He died at the age of 137. Traditionally, he is seen as the ancestor of the Arabs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hagar</span> Biblical character

According to the Book of Genesis, Hagar was an Egyptian slave, a handmaiden of Sarah, whom Sarah gave to her own husband Abram as a wife to bear him a child. Abraham's firstborn son, through Hagar, Ishmael, became the progenitor of the Ishmaelites, generally taken to be the Arabs. Various commentators have connected her to the Hagrites, perhaps claiming her as their eponymous ancestor. Hagar is alluded to, although not named, in the Quran, and Islam considers her Abraham's second wife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lot (biblical person)</span> Person mentioned in the Book of Genesis and the Quran

Lot was a man mentioned in the biblical Book of Genesis, chapters 11–14 and 19. Notable events in his life recorded in Genesis include his journey with his uncle Abraham; his flight from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, during which his wife became a pillar of salt, and being intoxicated by his daughters so they could have incestuous intercourse with him to continue their family line.

"The Parable of the Old Man and the Young" is a poem by Wilfred Owen that compares the ascent of Abraham to Mount Moriah and his near-sacrifice of Isaac there with the start of World War I. It had first been published by Siegfried Sassoon in 1920 with the title "The Parable of the Old Man and the Young", without the last line: "And half the seed of Europe, one by one". The poem is an allusion to a story in the Bible, Genesis 22:1-18.

<i>The Bible: In the Beginning...</i> 1966 film by John Huston

The Bible...In the Beginning is a 1966 religious epic film produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by John Huston. It recounts the first 22 chapters of the Biblical Book of Genesis, covering the stories from The Creation and Adam and Eve to the binding of Isaac.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lech-Lecha</span> Third portion in the annual Jewish cycle of weekly Torah reading

Lech-Lecha, Lekh-Lekha, or Lech-L'cha is the third weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis 12:1–17:27. The parashah tells the stories of God's calling of Abram, Abram's passing off his wife Sarai as his sister, Abram's dividing the land with his nephew Lot, the war between the four kings and the five, the covenant between the pieces, Sarai's tensions with her maid Hagar and Hagar's son Ishmael, and the covenant of circumcision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vayeira</span> 4th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading

Vayeira, Vayera, or Va-yera is the fourth weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis 18:1–22:24. The parashah tells the stories of Abraham's three visitors, Abraham's bargaining with God over Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot's two visitors, Lot's bargaining with the Sodomites, Lot's flight, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, how Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father, how Abraham once again passed off his wife Sarah as his sister, the birth of Isaac, the expulsion of Hagar, disputes over wells, and the binding of Isaac.

<i>Abraham</i> (1993 film) 1994 television movie directed by Joseph Sargent

Abraham is a 1993 television film based on the life of the Biblical patriarch Abraham produced by Five Mile River Films. It was shot in Ouarzazate, Morocco. Directed by Joseph Sargent, it stars Richard Harris, Barbara Hershey, Maximilian Schell, and Vittorio Gassman (Terach).

In biblical studies, the term wife–sister narratives in Genesis refers to three strikingly similar stories in chapters 12, 20, and 26 of the Book of Genesis. At the core of each is the story of a biblical patriarch who has come to be in the land of a powerful foreign overlord who misidentifies the Patriarch's wife as the Patriarch's sister, and consequently attempts to wed her himself. The overlord later finds out his error. Two of the three stories are similar in many other details, including the ruler's name, Abimelech.

Abraham is known as the patriarch of the Israelite people through Isaac, the son born to him and Sarah in their old age and the patriarch of Arabs through his son Ishmael, born to Abraham and Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian servant.

There are many Biblical figures which the Qur'an names. Some, however, go unnamed in the Qur'an, but are referenced or referred to in the hadiths, tafsirs, literature or seerah. Other figures are mentioned elsewhere in tradition and in the sunnah and sayings of Muhammad. Such figures which are not mentioned by name in the Qur'an, are included below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebecca</span> Biblical character

Rebecca appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was Laban the Aramean, and she was the granddaughter of Milcah and Nahor, the brother of Abraham. Rebecca and Isaac were one of the four couples that some believe are buried in the Cave of the Patriarchs, the other three being Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, and Jacob and Leah. Most scholars have considered Rebecca's historicity uncertain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angel Studios</span> American media company

Angel Studios, Inc. is an American independent media company and film distribution studio based in Provo, Utah. It operates the over-the-top video on-demand service Angel Studios. The streaming service is available worldwide and can be accessed via web browsers or via application software installed on smartphones, tablet computers, and smart TVs.

References

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