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Jesus Is King (film)
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Wikipedia article
'Jesus Is King' is a 2019 American experimental concert short film written by rapper Kanye West and directed by Nick Knight. It was shot in the summer of 2019, with the intention of bringing the Sunday Service Choir to life in the Roden Crater of Arizona's Painted Desert. Prominent appearances are made by the group and West is also present at times. The film received lukewarm reviews from critics, who generally highlighted the Sunday Service Choir's contributions. Some praised the location and West's lack of focus on himself, though numerous critics observed an unclear concept. 'Jesus Is King' was released exclusively in IMAX theaters as an accompaniment to West's ninth studio album of the same name on October 25, 2019.
Background and production
On September 29, 2019, IMAX issued a press release announcing their collaboration with West for the release of the concert film 'Jesus Is King' to accompany his ninth studio album of the same name on October 25. The press release said that the film was shot in the summer of 2019 and brings West's gospel group the Sunday Service Choir "to life in the Roden Crater, visionary artist James Turrell's never-before-seen installation in Arizona's Painted Desert". It was announced to feature songs arranged by West in a gospel style and music from the album, fully "presented in the immersive sound and stunning clarity of IMAX". 'Jesus Is King' uses a few tracks from the album: "Selah", "Everything We Need", "Use This Gospel", and an alternate version of "Jesus Is Lord" entitled "Every Knee Shall Bow". It includes an interpolation of the refrain of the gospel track "Ultralight Beam" from West's 2016 album 'The Life of Pablo', as well as revised versions of "Say You Will" and Street Lights" from '808s & Heartbreak' (2008). Old works are performed by the Sunday Service Choir in a gospel style: "O Fortuna", "Perfect Praise", "When I Think of His Goodness", "More Abundantly", "Count Your Blessings", and "Alleluia", the fifth of which was eventually included on their album 'Jesus Is Born' on December 25, 2019. Prior to starring in the film, the Sunday Service Choir had been assembled by West for weekly performances throughout 2019.
Roden Crater remained under construction at the time of West filming there, having been worked on by Turrell for around 40 years. In 2018, West toured the crater multiple times after he made trips across the United States to see Turrell's art and in December, he revealed his first pilgrimage to the location. West subsequently took conference calls with the artist and spent time with him inside a piece named "Perfectly Clear" at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, a month before the rapper donated US$10 million to help finish Roden Crater. He also spoke about his appreciation of Turrell's work, saying that "one day, we'll all be living in Turrell spaces" and his lights "turn you into a zen state".
On October 17, 2019, British fashion photographer Nick Knight was announced as the director of 'Jesus Is King'. He had worked with West in the past, shooting the music videos for his 2013 singles "Black Skinhead" and "Bound 2". Discussing collaborating with the rapper in an October 2019 interview, Knight drew a heavy comparison to how he worked with fashion designer Alexander McQueen, after "understanding his world and his desires". He explained that they are both "extremely complex and extremely passionate about their lives", "extremely honest and sincere", and "often misunderstood" by the media wanting to simplify answers to highly complex questions. Knight declared West was uninterested in being centre stage and recalled the rapper saying 'Jesus Is King' "isn't a film that is about me, [it] is a film about worship - that's a universal thing", elaborating that his "lack of ego and modest humility" was significant to him not being the main star, feeling he was presenting an unseen vision of West "about emotion and integrity". 'Jesus Is King' served as a companion piece to the album, following West's 2010 film 'Runaway' that was released for his fifth studio album 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' as his second film for a record. West explained in a voiceover of a trailer for 'Jesus Is King' that its purpose was Christian evangelism, not entertainment: "We're here to spread the gospel. I'm not here for your entertainment. I'm an evangelist, so my music, my films, every conversation, every room I go in, we're here to save souls, save you from eternal damnation. I use art to make believers."
Release
A short preview of 'Jesus Is King' was shown at three listening parties for 'Jesus Is King', on September 27, 2019 in Detroit, September 28, 2019 in Chicago, and September 29, 2019 in New York.
On October 17, 2019, West shared the first trailer for the film that is soundtracked by a choir's reinterpretation of "Say You Will" with new lyrics and slightly over a minute long. A temple-like illustration of Roden Crater appears while the choir sing, with the setting showing stairs that lead out to a light and as the trailer progress, the camera zooms in on this. The trailer then ends with a biblical quote from the New Testament Book of Mark, reading: "In the words of Jesus Christ, 'The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel.'" On October 19, 2019, West released a trailer consisting of behind-the-scenes footage from 'Jesus Is King', which runs for almost two minutes and uses a slow drum beat. It begins by displaying the same quote from the first trailer, before cutting to West walking up a hill as he explains the religious purpose of the film in a voiceover. West and his crew are shown assembling the camera outside Roden Crater, after which the Sunday Service Choir perform at the location. This is followed by footage of West in an editing room reciting the Mark quote and Turrell also makes an appearance in the trailer, speaking with the rapper.
On October 25, 2019, 'Jesus Is King' premiered exclusively in IMAX theaters across the world, accompanying the album's release after a series of delays. In June 2020, West teased a digital release of the film through Apple.
Reception
'Jesus Is King' was met with lukewarm reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of six critics gave the film a positive review. At Metacritic, it received an average score of 61, based on four reviews.
Writing for 'TheWrap', Todd Gilchrist viewed the film as "largely and predictably" appealing almost entirely to West's fanbase, asserting the performances are "more staged" and "abbreviated" than the Sunday Service Choir's concerts. Gilchrist also noted West's musical and spiritual growth while praising the focus on the music, further writing the film is too short even though it is his first work for a long time that could "truly change hearts and minds and best of all, not even solely about Kanye West himself". David Ehlrich from IndieWire graded the film a B-, praising the lack of appearances from West in favor of the Sunday Service Choir, its genuine interest "in taking you to church", the Roden Crater location, and the different set-ups. Ehlrich noted 'Jesus Is King's contradictoriness due to being equally "reverent and narcissistic, humble and grandiose", calling it "both a tribute to the Lord and a testament to West's unparalleled ability to get in his own damn way"; he summarized the film as lackluster due to the short length. Luke Morgan Britton of 'NME' gave the film three stars out of five, seeing that West's "sublime but flawed visual journey stops short of enlightenment", declaring it "addresses many of the ideas" of interest to him: "a search for the sublime, the striving for a better future, the awe-inspiring power of nature, as well as a stripped-back, minimalist approach". Morgan Britton named the Roden Crater location a "perfect backdrop for West's current spiritual quest" and complimented the music, the Sunday Service Choir's presence, and the advantageous lack of appearances from West, concluding that despite its "aesthetic brilliance", the film becomes "lost in a struggle of what it wants to be" rather than reaching the full potential.
'The Atlantic's Spencer Kornhaber complimented how the film's religious ethos is established early and the group's performances, as well as highlighting the minimalism that creates "holy 'wows'" and the mixture of "ancient spiritual signifiers" with "the earth tones and graphical shapes" of West's Adidas Yeezy line. Kornhaber commented that West does not explain his conversion to Christianity and saw it as "treat[ing] a tricky concept as a simple matter of aesthetics and sensations", saying his attempt to spread his faith is "oddly cold" and also criticizing how the film "didn't make me feel all that much". In a mixed review for 'Vulture', Alison Willmore saw its sole audience as West's hardcore fans, noting how the experimental film "feels too ethereal to bear up under much solo scrutiny" and pales in comparison to 'Runaway' due to the lack of a clear narrative or concept. Willmore assured the authorship of 'Jesus Is King' is entirely West's through "a mix of ecstatic spirituality and artistic wankery", seeing it as resembling "a frustrated attempt at conveying a concentrated version of its born-again creator's experiences" that culminates in West focusing on himself. He went on to praise the location and make lukewarm comments about the Sunday Service Choir's contributions, finalizing that the film struggles from a lack of coherence.
References
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