MR - His Only Son

Not bad.

Overall the story of Abram/Abraham and Sarai/Sarah was well acted. If you come to the movie with a strong understanding of the biblical narrative, this movie can paint a humanized portrait of what might otherwise be far-off and iconic biblical characters. However, if this is the first time you are encountering the story of Abraham and Isaac, you should know that the producers added some extra-biblical story elements, many of which I found distracting.

The portrayal of Sarah/Sarai by Sara Seyed is the best part of the film. I have often thought about the tension that must have been in that household, and she did an outstanding job portraying it. Although they made her look too old. Sarah was old, but even at 90, she was hot enough that King Abimelek wanted her for his harem.

Two things were avoided or misrepresented when it came to Abraham. First, they did not deal with Abraham being a little cowardly and a liar. On two occasions, Abraham asked Sarah to say that she was his sister for fear that if Pharoh or King Abmielek knew she was his wife, they would kill him and take her. The movie glossed over those incidents. Perhaps the producers did not want to taint the hero arc of Abraham, but for me, it is a compelling reason to believe the story as it is laid out in Genesis. No one making up a patriarch for a nation would endow him with such petty weaknesses, yet there they are. 

The second thing the movie did not portray was how wealthy Abraham was. No doubt this was due to the low-budget nature of the film. They did not have enough money to hire the requisite people to show Abraham's wealth. In the movie, when Abraham talks to Philistine horsemen (an extra-biblical addition), he downplays his role in rescuing his nephew Lot. Going so far as to say that the men he brought were just shepherds armed with tools. But the biblical text tells a different story. 

When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. - Genesis 14:14 

Abram had 318 men he equipped and trained as his personal bodyguard/army. He must have been wealthy indeed. I am sure his "camp" was well over a thousand people, plus enough food on the hoof to keep everyone fed. The idea of Abram's great wealth is further laid out in Genesis 13:5-6.

Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possesssions were so great that they were not able to remain together.

While I may now just be picking at nits, I will finally mention how the director over-emphasized Isaac as a "type" of Christ. Going so far as having Isaac say some things that Jesus said, not word for word but too close for my liking. I get it; the film producers were trying to use the story of Abraham & Isaac to tell the salvation story. But they are not the same story. The Abraham/Isaac story is part of the same story, and the foreshadowing of the near sacrifice of Isaac and the actual sacrifice of Jesus is undeniable. Still, it felt like they stretched too far.