Let me start by saying that before last week I essentially knew nothing about Kanye West, as crazy as that sounds, but I'm serious. Okay, I knew he sang a song called "Jesus Walks", he's married to Kim K., and has a baby named "North". Beyond that literally I'm the least cultured person around. I've never been into R&B, Rap, $1,000 shoes, reality TV or whatever category "Ye" is in (Gospel now, I guess :). I went into this film only knowing that it was 38 minutes and filmed somewhere in the Arizona desert. Kanye himself doesn't play a crucial role in the film and it is essentially a half-hour worship service with his "Sunday Service" choir. Although the visuals are beautiful, they are very simple - they're almost always static for 2-3 minute lengths - and oftentimes I closed my eyes to simply enjoy the voices and lyrics. The amount of Bible verses and arrangement of the lyrics and music is very moving. As a lifelong Christian, I enjoyed the journey (albeit very short and super simple). I actually felt like this is the kind of movie that "Hillsong" should have made a couple years ago for their documentary. This art piece style would have been much better served than packed arenas and perfect audio/visuals. "Jesus is King" is not a perfect art piece. It feels rapidly put together from a film perspective, yet it's so intentional. It's imperfect, but it makes it interesting. I'm laughing, just like a lot of people, at God's sense of humor in bringing Kanye to Himself. And I honestly believe in Kanye's transformation. I know it's this week's trend, but I believe Kanye has been changed and I pray that his transformation brings about more thought-provoking art that inspires people to believe. My one major knock on this film is that although I enjoyed seeing it in IMAX, it should have been released for free (or eventually for free) on YouTube. This would make a very powerful YouTube video for those who feel like Christianity lacks creativity, empathy, and inspiration - it's a presentation of the Gospel that's not for everyone, but certainly feels powerful for our present state. "Jesus is King" shows that Christian creativity may have been buried for a time, but a rebirth is happening and the Good News of the Gospel - as old as it may be - still totally transforms people, even those who seemed unredeemable.
