Exodus: Gods and Kings
Ancient Egypt 1,300 B.C.The Hebrews have been slaves to Egypt for over 400 years. They have shaped and built the city under the rule of a series of Pharaohs. They have not forgotten their homeland or their one God, and 'He' has not forgotten them.In the Pharaoh's temple in the holy city of Memphis, Moses (Christian Bale) and his adoptive brother Ramses (Joel Edgerton) learn that the Hittite army is near the city. The Pharaoh Seti (John Turturro) hears from the High Priestess (Indira Varma) of a prophecy that states that one will become a leader. Together, the two brothers ride their chariots into battle. With their own army, they confront the Hittites and take them down. Ramses is nearly killed when his chariot breaks down and he is nearly trampled, but Moses hurls a spear that breaks the Hittite chariot. Seti later thanks Moses for saving Ramses.Moses is sent to meet with Viceroy Hegep (Ben Mendelsohn), who oversees the slaves in the city. While they are walking, Moses sees one slave, Joshua (Aaron Paul), being whipped. This image horrifies him.Moses also meets a tribe of Hebrews led by Joshua's father Nun (Ben Kingsley). Here, Moses learns that he is also a Hebrew and was sent to Egypt as a baby. Moses is upset by this revelation. Two Hebrews hear the story and report it to Hegep.Some time later, Seti dies and Ramses is made the new Pharaoh. He learns of Moses' lineage from Hegep. A servant named Miriam (Tara Fitzgerald) is brought before him for interrogation at the behest of Queen Tuya (Sigourney Weaver). Ramses questions if she is Moses' sister. He nearly cuts off her arm until Moses intervenes and says she is his sister. Tuya wants Moses to be executed, but Ramses sends him into exile. Before leaving, Moses meets Miriam and their birth mother, who tell him his birth name is Moishe.Moses travels through the desert and comes across Midian and settles there. He meets Jethro (Kevork Malikyan) and his daughter Zipporah (Maria Valverde). Over time, Moses becomes a shepherd and comes to know Zipporah and they eventually fall in love and marry.Nine years later, Ramses continues to rule over Egypt with power. He has married Nefertari (Golshifeth Farahani) and has an infant son. Moses has also stayed in Midian and had a son with Zipporah named Gershom (Hal Hewetson). Moses has not shared the same faith in God that his wife and child had, which upsets Zipporah.Moses takes a trip up a mountain during a storm. A rock slide occurs in which he gets knocked unconscious and has his leg broken. He awakens nearly completely submerged in mud. He hears a voice and sees a burning bush. A child named Malak (Isaac Andrews) comes before him. He is a representation of God sent to speak with Moses. The boy takes some stones and stacks them together to form a pyramid to remind Moses of what he must do and who his people are.Moses returns to the village and has his leg treated. He tells Zipporah what he saw and what he heard. She doesn't believe that God would have come to him as a child. Moses knows he has a task to do, but Zipporah doesn't want him to leave his family behind.Moses returns to Egypt and reunites with Nun and Joshua. He also meets his brother Aaron (Andrew Tarbet) for the first time, along with Aaron's own son. Moses returns to the temple and confronts Ramses with a sword to the neck. Ramses is shocked to see Moses still alive. Moses tells Ramses of his mission from God. Afterwards, Ramses decides he wants Moses dead, and so he hunts down the Hebrews in the city and begins to publicly execute them until Moses turns himself in.Moses gathers the Hebrews and trains them in combat against Ramses' forces. Together with the tribesmen, they learn how to utilize bows and arrows as well as defenses against the Egyptians. Meanwhile, Moses continues to communicate with Malak, who warns him of something to come.The chaos begins when a group of crocodiles attacks a boat of fishermen. The beasts rip them apart (as well as each other), leaving the sea red with blood. The Ten Plagues then hit Egypt, beginning with all the water in the city turning to blood, with dead sea creatures surfacing. From the water come hundreds and hundreds of frogs all over the city. This is followed by a massive swarm of lice going all across the land. The Egyptians, including Ramses and his family, get rashes and boils on their skin. Ramses consults his grand vizier and the High Priestess for help, but when they provide him with no results, he has them executed.Moses confronts Ramses again about releasing the Hebrews. Ramses argues that there is no reason to change this after 400 years, as it would also be bad for Egypt economically as the country relies heavily on slave labor. Thus, the plagues continue with pestilence overtaking the livestock. They cough up blood before dying all over the place. Then a huge swarm of locusts overtakes the city, destroying much of the crops. A powerful hail storm follows, also causing much destruction in the city.Joshua comes across Moses talking to Malak, though Joshua cannot see the boy. Moses is horrified to learn of what the final plague is to be. He tells the Hebrews to slaughter a lamb and cover their doors with blood. That night, a darkness sweeps over the city. The first born child in each Egyptian home that is not marked with blood dies, including the son of Ramses. He finds his dead child and wails. After this, Ramses angrily tells Moses to leave with the Hebrews for Canaan.Moses leads the Hebrews into their exodus from the city. They walk for days until coming across the Red Sea. Fearing they have no way of going further, a frustrated Moses throws his sword into the ocean. Later, the waters begin to recede, allowing the people to go through. One Hebrew objects to Moses' leadership, but Moses convinces everyone to continue following him as he vows to take them home. They begin to walk through the sea.Back in Egypt, Ramses is still mourning the loss of his son. He decides to go after the Hebrews. His men ride through the mountains without stopping to rest the men or horses. On their journey, a large portion of Ramses' soldiers are killed when the mountains break down and take the soldiers down with it. The surviving Egyptians catch up to the Hebrews, who are almost through the Red Sea. The waters then begin to reform, forcing everyone to run for it. Moses rides toward Ramses, while Joshua, Aaron, and others follow him. As the waters get higher and closer, Moses orders the Hebrews to run back to land, while most of Ramses' soldiers retreat, even as Ramses continues riding toward Moses. The waves then crash down, killing Ramses' men before hitting both Moses and Ramses. Moses survives and rejoins the Hebrews, while Ramses also survives but is left alone amongst his dead soldiers, all of whom are being feasted on by the birds.Moses leads the Hebrews through Midian so that he may reunite with Zipporah and Gershom. Moses tells her that her faith should be stronger than ever now. They embrace and kiss.Later on, Moses is carving out the Ten Commandments onto a slab of stone. He talks to Malak again, who tells him that if he truly believes in what he's writing, that he ought to continue.The Hebrews make their way through Mount Sinai. A significantly older Moses rides with the Ten Commandments close to him. He looks out and sees Malak amongst the crowd before he seems to disappear. The Hebrews then continue making their way to the promised land.
comedy, cruelty, murder, violence, psychedelic, revenge