* * * ½ (Joyce)

* * * (Don)

(A different look at the Ascension)

This well-intentioned tale of what may have happened after Christ’s Crucifixion presents a different look at the biblical account. The story opens with Yeshua (Jesus) dying on the cross.

Meanwhile, the Roman soldier Clavius (Joseph Fiennes) is fighting under Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth) for the glory of Rome. Pilate wants only to have the stories of a “Messiah” go away, but when Yeshua is laid to rest in a sealed tomb, the drunken guards awake to find him gone.

Pilate sends Clavius out among the crowds to discover the truth. I found the interrogation process to be a bit tedious, while Joyce disagreed. Clavius defects when he discovers that Yeshua is still waking among his disciples, joining them on a journey to Nazareth. At this point the story turns into one man’s quest to belief, as his faith, or lack of it, is challenged.

From there on, we have a Bible story of faith that many will find an inspiration and others may question.

Rated PG-13, with violence.