Be informed! The Young Messiah's high production quality probably makes its content more disturbing, because many people will see it and form a concept of Jesus from it. Like The Da Vinci Code, the film—based on a novel by Anne Rice (Interview With the Vampire)—is loosely based on Gnostic texts widely deemed heretical. (In those texts, the boy Jesus strikes a playmate dead and then resurrects him, makes clay birds alive, etc.) The story's main premise is that young Jesus has no clue he's the Son of God. As in the Harry Potter saga, the young hero gradually discovers his supernatural powers and struggles to control them and to discover his destiny. Yet it's being billed as a "Christian-themed" Easter film and even being supported by some big ministry groups. Mary and Joseph try to protect Jesus from the backlash from his accidental miracles. In a totally fictional suspense subplot, Herod discovers Jesus' name, age, home, and family and sends a Roman soldier to track and kill him. Don't be bamboozled—read the Bible for yourself.
Review of The Young Messiah
