The Carpenter Movie – it’s Like Rocky Meets Jesus!

THE CARPENTER is an action film that explores Nazareth in 29 AD with lively music, fight sequences, and a benevolent carpenter.

Buy tickets today to see THE CARPENTER in theaters now!

Cast & Crew

Kameron Krebs as Oren; Kaulin Krebs as Levi; Daz Crawford as Uncle Sharar; Jeff Dickamore as Yeshua; Andrew Jacobs as Doctor Amos; Aurora Florence as Mira; Bianca Simone Mannie as Aria; Peter Butler as Jair.

Written by Garrett Batty, Kameron Krebs, and Kenny Krebs; Directed by Garrett Batty; Produced by Garrett Batty, Kameron Krebs, and Daren Smith.

Tagline

“The King of the Ring becomes the apprentice to the Prince of Peace.”

Synopsis

After the death of his father, a rage-filled fighter’s life is impacted when he becomes an apprentice to a mysterious Carpenter, compelling him to pursue his greatest potential. This film is a powerful tale of transformation and redemption.

Review

I love this movie!!! As soon as I finished watching it, I wanted to go back and watch it again! THE CARPENTER is a truly remarkable film. It has action, drama, humor, romance, beautiful scenery, and JESUS!

Seriously, this is Christian filmmaking at its finest. The cinematography is excellent, the sets look authentic, the acting is great, and the stunts are as good as any major action movie! About 20 minutes into the film, there’s an awesome chase scene through a village. It’s during this scene when the fighter first meets the Carpenter.

Set in Biblical times, THE CARPENTER highlights the life-changing journey of a fighter who becomes a carpenter’s apprentice to none other than Jesus Christ. This movie takes place about a year before Jesus (Yeshua) sets out on his public mission. Yeshua has a carpentry shop in Nazareth, probably the same one where Joseph taught Him the trade. The woodworking scenes are good, showing how furniture was made.

We get to meet Yeshua’s mother, Mary, briefly in one scene. It’s amazing how early events in the movie relate to later events, tying everything together. There is also an epilogue showing what happens three years later.

The Characters

The new apprentice, Oren, fights as a side hustle. But Oren’s experience learning the timeless skills of carpentry with Yeshua as his mentor eventually changes his lifestyle. Yeshua teaches Oren to find peace and to serve others. By the way, Yeshua is not only the peacemaker, I also love how He plays the matchmaker in this movie!

Oren, the main protagonist, is a white guy with blue eyes and red hair, complete with a man bun. He sticks out like a sore thumb since fair-skinned redheads are pretty rare in the Middle East! In the movie, people keep making fun of Oren’s hair color. But he’s a likeable guy, and you can’t help but cheer him on. I was surprised to see that this is the lead actor’s first movie. (He used to be a college football player.) I like his understated way of acting, which fits his character’s personality.

The name Oren is associated with strength, resilience, and stability, and Oren does indeed stand strong like a tree. However, he has a lot of pent-up anger. When Oren was a young boy, his father went off to war against the Romans and never returned. His mom was killed during the Romans’ retreat. Oren said, “I got picked up by some (slave) traders headed to Jerusalem, but they abandoned me near Cana when no one would give them what they wanted for me.”

Oren and his brother were adopted by a nice Canaan couple who raised them as their own. Interestingly, Cana is the place where Jesus performed his first documented miracle of turning water into wine at a wedding feast. In this movie, He secretly performs a few miracles for his friends and neighbors. Cana is only 4 miles from Nazareth, so to walk from one place to another like they do in the movie would only take about an hour and a half. Nazareth to Jerusalem, on the other hand, is 97 miles.

The two brothers in THE CARPENTER are brothers in real life, so the brotherly banter between them is pretty genuine. There is a lot of humor in this movie, which along with the action makes it fun to watch. For example, Oren gets a big gash on his forehead in a fight. Oren says he’ll have Yeshua look at it. His brother says, “I think you need a doctor, not a carpenter.” LOL!

As for the other characters, Oren’s uncle is a decent guy, and there is a friendly doctor who helps Oren. Then there’s the man who Oren says is “unlike any I’ve ever known.” I think the actor who played Yeshua did a good job at portraying Him. He is shown as being very kind, gentle, and inspiring. He takes care of the widows, gives bread to the needy, and works wood with a master’s eye for precision and perfection. Yeshua is down-to-earth but unusually wise. He gives practical advice such as, “It’s good to care for your mother. Something a son should always do.”

Yeshua also quotes from the Old Testament and gives spiritual advice. I especially like the part where He says: “The Father does not like to see his children suffer, but pain and suffering are a value as well. If He healed everyone when they wanted, it would deny them the chance to learn to avoid the pain and consequences. The human experience allows every one of us to feel, learn, adjust and develop through their own efforts. Our scars remind us that our suffering will be healed, and when the scar is no longer, be grateful for the healing.”

Historical Fiction

Admittedly, this movie isn’t canonical to the original source material. It’s historical fiction. The customs shown in this movie are very Western and the music is anachronistic. But I do believe the filmmakers’ hearts were in the right place. (It’s a father-son team that made it.) I didn’t find the discrepancies too distracting while viewing the movie, and I believe certain choices were made to appeal to a wider audience. But just so you know, some examples of things that I noticed include the following…

They wouldn’t have tall tables, they ate at low tables. Even though they use the Hebrew name Yeshua for Jesus in this movie, they don’t use “abba” for “father.” The music played during the fight scenes is hard rock and heavy metal, which surprised me, but it works! I think anyone who watches the movie for the fight scenes will appreciate it, and that’s a good thing because maybe they will learn a moral lesson from Jesus too.

THE CARPENTER is rated PG-13 for violence; namely because of all the fisticuffs, boxing, and mixed martial arts. We know that boxing was a formal Olympic event in ancient Greece, and we know the Romans had gladiators, so it’s quite possible there were other types of fight clubs back in those days. As a side note, I like how the movie shows that fitness training isn’t just a modern invention. Oren runs through the fields and makes his own weightlifting devices with rocks and ropes!

I’ve seen some blurbs for this movie that state, “An adopted Viking orphan becomes a carpenter’s apprentice to Jesus.” Which is kind of misleading, as the movie takes place in 29 AD and the Viking Age didn’t start until around 800 AD. Technically, Vikings are not a particular people group; they are simply the name given to the overseas raiders that transformed Northern Europe during the Early Middle Ages. The “Vikings” were actually made up of a variety of peoples from the region that we call Scandinavia today. But obviously there would have been Norsemen aka “North-Men” living in the years before that. In fact, the Scandinavian Iron Age (500 BC to 800 AD) that immediately preceded the start of the Viking Age roughly coincided with the Roman Iron Age (800 BC to 400 AD). Moreover, from 12 BC to 16 AD there were a series of conflicts between the northern Germanic tribes and the Roman Empire, so there could very well have been Scandinavians (“Vikings”) as well as Celtics in the mix.

Conclusion

THE CARPENTER is an unconventional parable as action-packed as it is faith-promoting. The sets and costumes are all first rate. It has realistic woodworking and fight scenes. The movie is beautifully done and entertaining with a great message. It’s a touching account of how Jesus can change us into the best we can be. I think anyone who watches the movie will hear some advice that can personally relate to them. The things that Yeshua said in this movie made me consider how much He cares about me, and everyone really. Just think how cool it would be to have Him as a friend and mentor in your neighborhood! If you like carpentry, fitness, and/or Jesus, you will enjoy this movie! It was filmed entirely on location in Cape Town, South Africa. The movie is 1 hour and 52 minutes long.

Buy tickets today to see THE CARPENTER in theaters now!

Trailer

Links

Website: https://www.carpentermovie.com

Buy Tickets: https://www.carpentermovie.com/tickets

Giveaway

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Disclosure

Many thanks to Three Coin Productions for providing a sample of the product for this review. Opinions are 100% my own.

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