Coming Soon

← | index | →

In a world
where power is arbitrary -- cut
to head on a platter --

one man stands for love and justice --
"Many who are first shall be last" --
Did I say he's on a donkey? --"and last first."

Cut to old actor you'd know, English,
"They called him king?" "Sir, and worse --
'The son of God.'" A close up, worried eyes.

He wagers all he has on one -- last -- supper.
Snippets of guests: "'The honor of your presence' -- it's for Passover!"
"But, where?" "Just 'follow a man with a jar.'" "Is it a game?"

Everyone is hiding something. "I know
you're with the underground." "He's a collaborator?"
"Scandalous. They should have stoned her."

--and murder is on the table.
"One of you will betray me." Huge outcry.
"Which one?" "Who is it?" "Is it I?"

Exterior, dark, torches, screams.
This tough guy actor pulls a sword, cut
to title card The Last Supper.

I'm thinking, do we really need another remake?
Then the tag line: The greatest mystery is yet to come.
Sunrise, woman, closeup, crying. A shadow falls.

"Mary."
Goosebumps!
Want to see it?

Image by Susan Rouse.
← | index | →

Since I read Murder on the Orient Express in the early 1970s, I've seen three different film versions. In all three, the excitement builds as those characters board the fatal train. That's true of other whodunnits with star-studded casts who take a cruise or return for a family reunion.

As we approach Holy Week, when the church ritually reenacts the last seven days in the life of Jesus, I've wondered if a shift of genre might reveal something in the story, or, maybe just in me.

"Mary" in the final stanza is not the woman whom Jesus saved from stoning, though they are often treated as one. I chose not to make the distinction clear for my sensationalized gospel. For details, see my blog post for Mary Magdalene Day. - WSS