This great movie starring Denzel Washington, Mila Kunis and Gary Oldman has two aspects I am really into lately: spirituality and post-apocalyptic scenarios. At first sight this may seem another boring dystopian movie, but it’s surprisingly a very deep and emotional story about faith and the power and glory of Yahuah Tseva’oth.
If you haven’t watched the movie, I suggest you do so first, for the movie has many surprises that will be spoiled if you read further. That being said, let’s move on with my personal review on this flick.
We are introduced to a post-apocalyptic world after a supposedly ‘nuclear war’ which destroyed all infrastructure and basically put humankind in complete desolation. The generation born in this world does not know how to read, does not have free access to clean water and also no knowledge of the world before ‘the event’. And in this new society there is an overall absence of faith and of any knowledge of our Creator. In such hopeless and chaotic scenario, savage behavior becomes the norm.
As usual, the catastrophic magnetic field inversion is present. Although they try to imply that the event was a nuclear war, Eli (Denzel Washington) says at one point that when the war happened, "the sun came down". He knows only superficially what happened and merely repeats the official story. He can’t remember when he was there when it happened! Actually, he can’t even tell how old he is. The disappearance of the sun and memory loss is part of the expected consequences of a magnetic field inversion. Check his dialogue with Solara:
- They said that the war tore a hole in the sky. You probably heard the stories.
- Yeah.
- Tore a hole in the sky, sun came down, and burned everything. Everything and everybody.
Mila Kunis’ character’s name ‘Solara’ meaning ‘of the Sun’, is another bread crumb for me that the nuclear war was a lie told to humanity to hide the Creator’s judgment on Earth. Otherwise, why would Bibles be burned?
After the war, whoever was in charge, decided Bibles were to be blamed for the ‘war’ and they were therefore burned to the last one, or almost. Eli had the last one with him. He now travels across the country following the instructions of a voice who spoke to him one day showing him where to find the last Bible and asking Eli to take it West, to a place he would know was the right one. The voice guaranteed that he would be protected while on his mission.
On his way West, he stops at a small town for water where he meets Carnegie and his future travel companion, Solara. Carnegie is a mob leader and sort of a ‘city dictator’ whose main motivation is to find a specific book, which we learn later refers to the Bible. And he sends thieves to find ‘the book’ but since his men can’t read, they bring all sorts of books to him, but never the right one. And Carnegie could send thieves who know how to read, but he prefers not to.
Solara is part of the godless generation who was born after the event and therefore does not know faith or even that a book called Bible ever existed, so when Eli says a grace before their meal, her ears are open. ‘Those who have ears, let them hear’. And she is so fascinated with Eli’s prayer, with words that made her feel such warmth, that she tries to repeat them to her (blind) mother the next day. And that’s when Carnegie overhears it and recognizes the words of faith, realizing therefore that Eli must have the book he is looking for.
The fact that this new world does not have easy access to clean water and food is a clear reference to the spiritual misery that the lack of the Word of Yahuah causes. The savage, hopeless and lawless society craves for their Creator and Carnegie, being one of the oldest in the village, thirsted more than anyone on the Water and Bread of Life.
And Yahusha said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that comes to me shall never hunger; and he that believes on me shall never thirst. (John 6:35)
And Carnegie had it very near, he could have enjoyed it, but his reasons were not righteous. He wanted to read the Word and possess it only for himself - for he knew that if his people had access to such knowledge of hope and learned to fear the Father, they would be free from him, or 'rebel'. This is the reason he sent only thieves who could not read to search for the Bible. Ironically, when he finally had the precious book in his hands, his functioning eyes were of no use for him to read the braille Bible. Claudia, Carnegie’s blind woman, touches the braille in the Bible and smiles – her eyes are open for the Word. While she refuses to read it for Carnegie in return for his evil ways with her and her daughter, in this scene below which ended up not making into the movie, we see Claudia reading the Bible in Carnegie's deathbed. The movie would have been much more beautiful with this scene in it, so here it is:
And once we see that the Bible is for blind people, it is revealed to the spectator that Eli was blind the whole time. The Father was not only guiding him throughout the way, but was also ‘lightning’ his path and making sure all his other senses were supernaturally accurate. And he was additionally graced with supernatural strength and the power to overcome all the evil people who would try to take him out of his mission. No wonder, after so many miracles, that Eli looks confused and frustrated when he gets shot by Carnegie. ‘I told you, he’s just a man’.
We should make a break in the movie to comment more on this sentence from Carnegie. In other religions, Yahusha Ha’Mashiach is described as ‘just a man’ or ‘just another prophet’, as a way to ignore his Heavenly nature. Even in Scriptures the Jewish leaders told Yahusha ‘You’re just a man’. Carnegie here represents the fools who can’t see beyond the flesh.
Spiritual Blindness
Yahusha said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind''. Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” Yahusha said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. (John 9:39-41)
Now back to the movie :)
Eli had to be shot in order to let the book go and also to get rid of the bandits. The moment Eli separates himself from the physical Bible, he becomes the Word. He represents here the salvation and deliverance of mankind, through the Good News of Yahusha Ha’Mashiach.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
Eli spent 30 years reading the Bible and memorized the whole thing. He was the personification of the Bible and the Father granted him enough time and energy to arrive with Solara to Alcatraz and dictate the whole Bible for a scribe to put it back on paper.
Ultimately Alcatraz - once a prison – is where humanity will have access to spiritual freedom from the bondage of hopelessness and tyranny. Out of Alcatraz, humankind will be able to start over - with humanity.
During the process of dictating the Bible, we see Eli clean and with white garments. Is it real or a spiritual transformation? The symbolism here is that Eli is fulfilling his mission and is getting ready to join the Father and Yahusha in Heaven.
He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. (Revelation 3:5)
In the end of the movie, Eli rests and asks the Father to also look after his friend as Solara starts walking on her solo journey. She gives very little detail, almost in a cryptic way: ‘This is something I have to do’ she says. When questioned about her destination, she simply answers, ‘Home’. Maybe she is indeed going home to save her mother from Carnegie, but a young woman walking alone in a desolate place with so much danger? it doesn’t make sense to me. My speculation is something else.
Solara was witness to all Eli could do in Yahuah’s name and was also in Alcatraz while Eli dictated the whole Bible and she listened to it - word by word. My interpretation is that Solara, once reborn in faith, was called to her journey to New Jerusalem, or Paradise.
'And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from Yahuah out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband'. (Revelation 21:2)
Solara is the remnant elect people freed from captivity by the 'Book of Eli'.
PS: While the apocalypse doesn't come, allow me to shed some light on Eli’s description of the ‘old world’ to Solara. May the Father never let us take the comforts of our lives for granted:
- What was it like?
- People had more than they needed. We had no idea what was precious and what wasn't. We threw away things that people would kill each other for now.
