The Ten Commandments: The Movie

The Ten Commandments: The Movie
Os Dez Mandamentos
Directed by Alexandre Avancini
Produced by Rede Record
Screenplay by Vívian de Oliveira
Based on Os Dez Mandamentos
Starring Guilherme Winter
Sérgio Marone
Camila Rodrigues
Giselle Itié
Petrônio Gontijo
Gabriela Durlo
Larissa Maciel
Denise del Vecchio
Marco Antônio Gimenez
Vera Zimmerman
Paulo Gorgulho
Distributed by Paris Filmes
Release dates
  • January 28, 2016 (2016-01-28)
Running time
 120 min
Country Brazil
Language Portuguese
Box office R$116 million[1]

The Ten Commandments is a Brazilian movie of 2016 released by Rede Record in association with Paris Filmes. The film is an adaptation of the eponymous television series presented by Rede Record in 2015, with new footage and different developments of which were shown in its last chapter on television.[2] The adaptation was written by Vivian de Oliveira and directed by Alexandre Avancini, with the same cast as the soap opera.[3]

The film was widely released by Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG), but a news report in São Paulo showed empty screening rooms at the premiere of the film, despite the tickets sold at the box office.[4] It was reported that in Recife a single buyer associated with the UCKG bought all the tickets for all showings of the film in its first two weeks, more than 20,700 tickets.[5] UCKG officially denied the negative reports about the film.[6][7]

During pre-order the film broke several records. In two weeks more than 2 million tickets were sold, and it was also shown at more screens in Brazil, over 1,000, than any previous film.[8][9][10] However, it was poorly received by critics.

The UCKG was criticised for heavily promoting the film at their services, and asking those attending for money to buy tickets for those who could not afford them; pastors at church services distributed envelopes with the Ten Commandments logo, and asked for them to be filled with money and returned to help the "cause", interspersed with stressing the importance of tithing 10% of salary, plus extra donations, every month.[11]

Plot

The film tells the story of Moses leading the Jewish people to the promised land. The plot has the adaptation of four books of the Bible that have this trajectory: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Welcomed by Pharaoh's daughter as a baby, Moses grows as the prince of Egypt, but turns against his adoptive family in favor of the suffering people of Israel, whom he should led to liberty.

Background

The soap opera The Ten Commandments is considered biblical teledramaturgy.[12] In 2010, Rede Record launched the first product on television with this theme, with the debut of the 10-episode miniseries, The Story of Esther. In 2011, the 18-episode minisseries Samson and Delilah debuted. In 2012, it was the time of King David, with 30 episodes. In 2013, Joseph from Egypt debuted, with 38 episodes. In 2014, the series Miracles of Jesus debuted with 18 episodes in the first season, and in 2015 the second season premiered with 17 episodes.[13]

The film is an adaptation of the homonymous novel produced by Record and broadcast from March 23 to November 23, 2015. This is the first biblical novel produced in the world.[14] Broke records of ratings and topped the most-watched Primetime shows.[15] After the last episodes of the first season in 2015, the network announced the film on November 19, 2015.[15]

Reception

Box office

On January 1, 2016, Cinemark movie network started the pre-sale of tickets for the film.[16] On January 7, more than 401,000 tickets had been sold.[17]

The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God released the film and asked the faithful to buy tickets and donate to others.[18] In Recife one person bought 22,700 tickets for R$220,000, according to the website UOL.[5] Universo Online website also reported that, despite this strategy, journalists found empty rooms at the premiere of the film in São Paulo.[4] In a first note on its official website, UCKG vehemently denied the information, stating that "the church has never forced anyone to perform any act and criticized the news".[6] In another note, UCKG also denied an information about vacancies in sessions, stating that "they were not pre-sale but marketed in piecemeal fashion."[7]

About 10.8 million tickets have been sold since the debut of the film, making The Ten Commandments the second largest audience in Brazil's cinema history.[19] However, Folha de S.Paulo points out that the list made by Ancine mentions "public", not "sold tickets". while several sessions of the film had empty seats even with all tickets sold.[19] After two weeks, the film grossed R$42 million.[20]

Critical reception

The film received generally negative reviews from critics, who reproached its narrative, acting, editing and adaptation of 176 chapters into two hours. Renato Marafon, from Cinepop website gave the film one star and a half out of 5, with an emphasis on "disjointed scenes and lack of focus on the main characters" and stressed the "modern slangs" used in a production about Ancient Egypt.[21] Renato Hermsdorff, from AdoroCinema website, also gave the film a rating of one star and a half out of 5, writing that "characters come and go at a crazy pace, preventing the viewer from understanding exactly what is happening," and described the technical point of view the film as "exaggerated and poor [...] from the scenery to the costumes, everything reminds a great parade of carnival."[22] Folha de S.Paulo in its online version written by Inácio Araújo, criticized the narrative, script, casting and editing of the film, but praised the action scenes, "in particular the special effects" but also criticized the use of slow motion in them.[23] Giovanni Rizzo, from Observatório do Cinema, gave the film 1 star out of 5, saying that "the sound mixing is poorly crafted and sometimes the audio bursts and it's impossible to understand what a character says."[24] Roberto Sadovski, writing a review on his blog in UOL, has heavily criticized the film, as the lack of context in important scenes as the relationship between Moses and Pharaoh, and the "visual poverty and inadequate cast and scenarios."[25]

UCKG promotion

The UCKG was criticised for heavily promoting the film at their services, and asking those attending for money to buy tickets for those who could not afford them; pastors at church services distributed envelopes with the Ten Commandments logo, and asked for them to be filled with money and returned to help the "cause", interspersed with stressing the importance of tithing 10% of salary, plus extra donations, every month.[26]

References

  1. ↑ "Brazil Box Office January 29–31, 2016". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Após sucesso de audiência, 'Os Dez Mandamentos' vai virar filme" [After audience success, "The Ten Commandments" is to be filmes]. Televisão - O Dia (in Portuguese). 24 November 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  3. ↑ "Cinemark abre pré-venda de ingressos para "Os Dez Mandamentos"" [Cinemark opens pre-sale of tickets for "The Ten Commandments"]. A Tribuna (in Portuguese). 1 January 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  4. 1 2 Felipe Branco Cruz and Renata Nogueira (28 January 2016). ""Os Dez Mandamentos" estreia com lugares vagos em sessões esgotadas" ["The Ten Commandments" shows to vacant seats in sold-out sessions]. Notícias - UOL Cinema (in Portuguese). Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  5. 1 2 Felipe Branco Cruz (19 January 2016). "No Recife, único comprador adquire 22 mil ingressos de "Os Dez Mandamentos"" [In Recife a single purchasrer buys 22,000 tickets for "The Ten Commandments"]. Notícias - UOL Cinema (in Portuguese). Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  6. 1 2 UCKG Social Communications Department (26 January 2016). ""Os Dez Mandamentos - O filme": Universal desmente acusações da Imprensa" ["The Ten Commandments - the Film": Universal [Church] denies Press accusations]. Universal.org (in Portuguese). Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Record e Paris Filmes divulgam nota sobre a lotação dos cinemas na estreia de "Os Dez Mandamentos – O filme"" [Rede Record and Paris Filmes publish note on attendance at cinemas showing "The Ten Commandments - the Film"]. Universal.org (UCKG) (in Portuguese). 28 January 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  8. ↑ "Filme 'Os Dez Mandamentos' supera 2 milhões de ingressos na pré-venda" [Film "The Ten Commandments" sells over 2 million tickets in pre-sales]. Veja.abril.com (in Portuguese). 20 January 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  9. ↑ "'Os Dez Mandamentos' vai estrear em número recorde de salas" ["The Ten Commandments to have first showing in record number of cinemas]. Veja.abril.com (in Portuguese). 12 January 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  10. ↑ "'Os Dez Mandamentos - O Filme', o milagre da multiplicação dos ingressos" ["The Ten Commandments - the Film", the miracle of multiplying income]. El Pais, Brazil (in Portuguese). 29 January 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "Universal pede dinheiro a fiéis para lotar cinemas de Os Dez Mandamentos" [Universal asks faithful for money to fill theaters showing The Ten Commandments]. Notícias da TV (in Portuguese). 18 January 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "Novela bíblica da Record peca no didatismo e parece Carnaval". Notícias da Tv. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  13. ↑ "A História de Ester". R7.com. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  14. ↑ Fernando, João (22 March 2015). "Record lança 'Dez Mandamentos', primeira novela bíblica". Estadão.com.br. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  15. 1 2 Russo, Francisco (20 November 2015). "Novela Os Dez Mandamentos ganhará versão para o cinema". Adoro Cinemas. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  16. ↑ "Rede abre pré-venda de ingressos para filme de 'Os Dez Mandamentos'". Folha. 1 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  17. ↑ Feltrin, Ricardo. "Filme "Os Dez Mandamentos" já vendeu 401 mil ingressos antecipados 4". tvefamosos.uol.com.br. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Universal pede dinheiro a fiéis para lotar cinemas de Os Dez Mandamentos". UOL. Retrieved 2016-01-19. A reportagem do Notícias da TV presenciou um pedido de "oferta" para a compra de ingressos no templo da avenida João Dias, em Santo Amaro (zona Sul de São Paulo), na última terça-feira (12). Durante o culto, os obreiros (ajudantes) entregavam um envelope com o logotipo de Os Dez Mandamentos, enquanto os pastores pediam para os fiéis depositarem a quantia que pudessem para ajudar na "causa". O envelope com o dinheiro podia ser devolvido no mesmo dia ou na próxima reunião.
  19. 1 2 "'Dez Mandamentos' tem 3º 'maior público' do cinema brasileiro". Folha de S.Paulo. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  20. ↑ ""Os Dez Mandamentos" segue na lideraça das bilheterias e bate "O Regresso"". cinema.uol.com.br. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  21. ↑ Marafon, Renato (31 January 2016). "Crítica: Os Dez Mandamentos – O Filme" (in Portuguese). CinePop. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  22. ↑ Hermsdorff, Renato (2016). "Os Dez Mandamentos – O Filme: Crítica" (in Portuguese). AdoroCinema. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  23. ↑ Araujo, Inácio (30 January 2016). "Título do filme deveria ser 'Os Dez Mandamentos – O Pesadelo'" (in Portuguese). Folha de S.Paulo. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  24. ↑ Rizzo, Giovanni (29 January 2016). "Crítica: Os Dez Mandamentos – O Filme" (in Portuguese). Observatório do Cinema. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  25. ↑ Sadovski, Roberto (29 January 2016). "Como cinema, Os Dez Mandamentos é um fracasso completo". UOL (in Portuguese). Blog do Sadovski. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  26. ↑ "Universal pede dinheiro a fiéis para lotar cinemas de Os Dez Mandamentos" [Universal asks faithful for money to fill theaters showing The Ten Commandments]. Notícias da TV (in Portuguese). 18 January 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
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