Barabbas

A historical film about what happened to a man named in the Gospels. Barabbas is the condemned prisoner who was released. The crowd asked for his pardon and someone else was crucified in his place. The film starts there: the man walks out and never gets over that exchange for the rest of his life. The narrative follows him across years. He works in the sulphur mines, is sent to a gladiator school and fights in the arena in Rome. At every stage others die and he survives, and he does not understand why. What the film is interested in is not faith but the sense of debt. Barabbas is never convinced; his question stays open to the end. It was shot in Italy. The eclipse at the beginning was filmed during a real solar eclipse, on that specific day. Anthony Quinn plays Barabbas. Silvana Mangano, Jack Palance and Ernest Borgnine are in the cast. The source is Pär Lagerkvist's novel; Richard Fleischer directed. A dark example of its genre for anyone who likes historical epics and narratives built on belief. For a viewer expecting a grand religious film, the story is hopeless and the character arrives nowhere.