The American series
The Chosen
, directed by Dallas Jenkins, a Catholic from an evangelical background, created the event through its original angle which consists in seeing Jesus through the eyes of those who met him, but also through its financing global participatory.
The series has multiplied support by offering viewers to
“pay to see more”
.
$40 million was raised for seasons 2 and 3, funded by over 125,000 people.
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Translated into 50 languages
As for the audience, it is just phenomenal, since the series translated into 50 languages, has been seen by more than 435 million Internet users.
Produced by Angel Studio and Leaves and Fishes, available on
The Chosen
app , the series was born in France thanks to Sage Distribution and was dubbed by the Canal+ group.
On December 17 at 9:15 p.m., C8 broadcasts the entirety of season 2 of the series.
The scene in which Mary Magdalene meets Jesus in season 1 of
The Chosen
is heartbreaking.
“The Chosen changed everything for me.
Over the seasons, I have felt touched by the message of the series..."
Elizabeth Tabish (The Chosen)
Elizabeth Tabish, who embodies the sinful woman, confides:
“When I started filming the series, I was in the throes of depression, at my mother's, I was thinking of stopping my career.
The Chosen
changed everything for me.
Over the seasons, I felt touched by the message of the series whereas in the past, I was rather reluctant.
It grew inside me and today I feel so much joy and love in the world.
During
season 2
Marie-Madeleine, my character continues to fight against her demons.
She feels threatened by despair, she will constantly try to get better, to heal.
Thanks to her, I understood how difficult it was but that it was worth it”.
Elizabeth Tabish (Marie-Madeleine) in
The Chosen
on C8.
BRYAN BUTTERFIELD
Season 2 of
The Chosen
has some inspired moments in store.
From the first episode, we are seized by the urgency of the evangelical mission, with John hurrying to gather the testimonies of the companions of Jesus even though James the Greater was the first apostle to die as a martyr in Jerusalem.
Alternately the disciples (those who follow the teaching) and the apostles (those who have learned and who are sent) remember their first encounter with Jesus, the one they called Rabbi (Master).
At this stage, the series does not differentiate between the first circle, that of the Twelve, still in formation, and the second, to which belong Marie-Madeleine or Marie, mother of Jacques.
As director Dallas Jenkis recalls:
“
The Chosen
has three levels of meaning.
It relates to the Elect, Christ himself chosen by God;
to the Jewish people, the chosen people;
and to the disciples whom Jesus has chosen”
.
Beauty and authenticity
The pastoral mission of Jesus begins in Samaria, in the city of Sychar.
The meeting near the well of Jesus with Photina, the Samaritan, is only mentioned.
On the other hand, a scene marks the spirits by its beauty and its authenticity, that where the apostles Jacques and Jean work the ground by pulling with the force of their muscles the plow in a thankless ground.
The evocation of the Good Samaritan mingles with the story of Melech, the one through whom Jesus will reveal the power of compassion and the healing power of humility in a beautiful setting.
The miracle is reserved for those who believe themselves to be the last of the damned on earth.
Read alsoThe Chosen: the participatory series on Jesus multiplies the audiences
As in season 1, the great strength of
The Chosen
is based on this rooting in the land of Israel, with its cultural environment, its daily life, its clothes, its tools and its laws, in a respect for dogmatic and historical bases.
Those who grew up with the image of
Jesus of Nazareth,
that of the film all in interiority of the Italian scenario writer Franco Zeffirelli, do not tire of being astonished by this Jesus incarnated by Jonathan Roumie, solid fellow with the rough tunic and the dusty sandals.
“You really had to feel what happened over 2,000 years ago.
Nothing should be precious”, explain the scriptwriters.
Finally, for those who have ever wondered if Jesus had a sense of humor, a few Woody Allen-esque lines may convince them!
They have at least the merit of bringing a somewhat incongruous but not unpleasant touch of lightness.
“André, my character is a good man.
He puts a certain pressure on me because I make it my duty to be a bit like him.
It's not so easy to turn up your left cheek and love your enemies”.
Noah James (The Chosen)
The actors, too, are not lacking in humor when it comes to telling anecdotes on the set, starting with Noah James playing André:
“My character likes to make jokes.
He's a good man who puts a certain pressure on me because I make it my duty to be a bit like him.
Christianity is demanding.
It's not so easy to turn the left cheek and love your enemies.
The companions of Jesus rarely have everything right, but they try, they are in search.
We all have our problems but we all want love too
.
Traditional representations
George Harrison Xanthis who plays John
“the disciple whom Jesus loved”
, recalls:
“My character is brash, immature, but like Jesus he uses his emotions for righteous things.
During the first episode, I really understood what “the sons of thunder” are, the nickname that Jesus gives to James and John.
Forgetting that I was playing a character, I was sweating because I really felt like I was being scolded by Jesus!
I looked so upset that Dallas Jenkins pointed the camera at me.
Paras Patel, the excellent apostle Matthew, the tax collector, remains flabbergasted by the traditional representations of his character:
"When you look at the iconography of saints in Orthodox churches, you see this man with the big white beard with a book, but my God, it's me"!
The American series integrates in its casting actors as diverse as were the apostles of Christ (fishermen, tax collector, revolutionary).
Some actors are Catholic or Orthodox, of Jewish or even Muslim origin like Alaa Safi playing Simon the Zealot.
Read alsoWhat do we know about Jesus of Nazareth?
The great decryption of Jean-Christian Petitfils
In the United States, season 3 is offered every Sunday after the theatrical release of the first two episodes in nearly 3,000 theaters, an almost Hollywood broadcast.
The French have access to the English version.
Season 4 is already scheduled for Christmas 2023 across the Atlantic.
Hubert de Torcy, director of Sage Distribution, enabled The Chosen
to arrive in France
.
He explains:
“In France we have a season behind but we hope to catch up”
.
A total of 7 seasons are planned and the teams hope to reach one billion views!
The actors, they keep a burning memory of the filming of season 3:
“We shot under a blazing sun in Texas.
We were so dazzled that we couldn't even make out the camera.
The teams made us drink pickle water to hydrate ourselves.
This mixture that we swallowed like a shot turned out to be effective!
George Harrison Xanthis, alias Jean remembers a memorable giggle with Jacques le Mineur played by Jordan Walker Ross:
"He couldn't quickly say, 'Are you proud of your brother? your Brother?”) and when he got there we were all laughing
.
WHO ARE THE TWELVE APOSTLES RECALLING THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL?
Simon says Peter, the leader of the first church, evangelizer from Antioch to Rome.
André, fisherman, brother of Pierre, evangelizer of Greece.
James, son of Zebedee, known as James the Minor, evangelist from Galilee to Jerusalem.
Jean, his brother, the only one who died of old age, one of the four evangelists, who also wrote the epistles and the Apocalypse, evangelizer of the island of Patmos in Ephesus.
Philip, evangelizer of Greece.
Bartholomew, evangelizer from Arabia to India.
Thomas, famous for his incredulity, evangelist in India.
Matthew, the tax collector, one of the four evangelists, evangelist from the Mediterranean to Ethiopia.
James, son of Alphaeus and Thaddeus, known as James the Minor, first bishop of Jerusalem.
Simon the Zealot or the Canaanite, evangelizer from Armenia to Lebanon.
Judas Thaddée or Jude, son of Jacques, evangelist from Armenia to Lebanon.
Judas the Iscariot, the one who betrayed and delivered Jesus, replaced by Matthias, evangelizer of the Caspian Sea in Colchis.
Paul of Tarsus or Saul (Hebrew name), who wrote “The Acts of the Apostles” and “the Paulian epistles” addressed to all the primitive Christian communities.
While not part of the "Twelve", he is considered the thirteenth apostle, instituted on the road to Damascus.
Nicknamed the apostle of the "Gentiles", his missionary path in Asia Minor, Greece and Rome is the most impressive.
