SOUTH AFRICA: Cast drew on experiences of many South Africans in the apartheid struggle, Bill Corcoran, in Johannesburg, hears
Movie enthusiasts who intend tomorrow watching the world premiere of Son of Man, South Africa's first ever entry at the prestigious Sundance Film festival, could be in line for a controversy of biblical proportions.
The movie, which portrays Christ as a modern-day black African revolutionary who takes on a despotic regime in the fictional southern African state of Judea, aims to smash the western world's image of a mild-mannered, blond-haired, blue-eyed saviour within its 86-minute running time.
Such is the apprehension over the portrayal of Christ as a black man among the Son of Man entourage attending the premiere in Park City, Utah - a US state well-known for its conservative christian beliefs - that extra security has been hired as a precaution against offended Christians who want to take matters into their own hands.
Mike Downey, one of the musical drama's producers, said that religious leaders in South Africa and the US were shown the film to gauge their reaction, and that in most cases it was positive.
However, he expected the film to "hit a nerve" in some parts of the US once it went on general release.
"In South Africa it was received well by religious leaders, but then many of them would have been involved in the anti-apartheid struggle, so it was not surprising.
"We have shown it to some religious leaders in Utah, and while they didn't condemn it they didn't praise it either. It could upset people who live in the Bible belt, as it challenges many conservative beliefs," he acknowledged.
Director Mark Dornford-May told reporters this week that he wanted to look at the gospels as if they were written by spin doctors and to strip that away and look at the truth.
"The truth is that Christ was born in an occupied state and preached equality at a time when that wasn't very acceptable," he said.
In his version of Jesus's life, Christ is born to a virgin who lives in a squalid township in Judea, a country where violence, poverty and sectarianism are the order of the day.
A group called the Democratic Alliance has invaded to restore "peace" to the land at gunpoint. But bloody street battles accompany the occupation, and promises of a transition to open democratic rule accompany summary executions and brutal massacres.
Jesus first begins his public ministry after an encounter with a black leather-clad devil during his traditional Xhosa circumcision rite. And, as an adult Christ, he gathers his apostles from the armed factions fighting for possession of the country.
But such is his growing popularity among the population that the authorities decide the Son of Man must be brought down and destroyed. It should be another simple "disappearance" in Africa, they decide, just like any other.
Although the film was predominantly shot by Dornford-May - who directed last year's surprise opera hit U-Carmen Khayelitsha - in the Cape Town township of Khayelitsha as well as the Eastern Cape, Downey says it echoes life in greater Africa rather than South Africa.
"This contemporary take on the story of Christ is seen more through an African prism rather than a South African one. The film is set in a generic African situation, and a lot of the problems in the film are not necessarily in South Africa but greater Africa.
"It can't be compared to modern South Africa because brutality, social unrest and civil war are at the heart of the story," he said.
While the promotional machine behind the film has tried to deflect comparisons between their story and South Africa's anti-apartheid history, lead actress Pauline Malefane maintains that the cast drew heavily on the experiences of many South Africans in the struggle when preparing for their roles.
"I'm only 29 so I don't really remember the really bad days in the early 1980s, and many of the cast are younger than I am.
"So we had to go back to the older people in our communities and ask them what it was like: how did they feel; what did they do and how did they deal with the emotions of the time," said Malefane, who plays Mary the mother of Christ.
She believes that anyone who would be offended by the portrayal of Christ as a black man is doing so because they want to create an issue they can latch on to further their own agendas.
"To me there is no issue with having a black Christ. We [ the Dimpho Di Kopane theatre company, which provided the cast for the film] are a black company with young black ambitious actors who want to try and tell this story in a different way.
"Obviously people will argue, but I would like them to see the film first. Nevertheless, one sees what they want to see in the end," she said.