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Jesus Is King (film)

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Jesus Is King
A promo poster for Jesus Is King
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNick Knight
Written byKanye West
Based onJesus Is King
by Kanye West
Produced byKanye West
Starring
Music byKanye West
Sunday Service
Release date
  • October 25, 2019 (2019-10-25)
Running time
38 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,108,241[1][2]

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 no clear 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".[3][4][5] 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".[3][4][5] 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".[6][7][8] 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).[7][9] 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",[7][10][11][12] the fifth of which was eventually included on their album Jesus Is Born on December 25, 2019.[13] Prior to starring in the film, the Sunday Service Choir had been assembled by West for weekly performances throughout 2019.[6]

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".[10][14]

On October 17, 2019, British fashion photographer Nick Knight was announced as the director of Jesus Is King.[15] He had worked with West in the past, shooting the music videos for his 2013 singles "Black Skinhead" and "Bound 2".[6] 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".[16] 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.[16] 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".[16] 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.[3][5][6] 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."[17][18]

Release

A short preview of the film 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.[19][20]

On October 17, 2019, a trailer for the film was released with a soundtrack of a gospel rendition of West's 808s & Heartbreak single, "Say You Will".[15]

On October 25, 2019, Jesus Is King premiered exclusively in IMAX theaters across the world,[4][21] accompanying the album's release after a series of delays.[5][3][22] In June 2020, West teased a digital release of the film through Apple.[23]

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.[24] At Metacritic, it received an average score of 61, based on four reviews.[25]

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.[26] 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".[26] 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.[22] 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.[22] 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".[27] 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.[27]

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.[28] 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".[28] 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.[6] 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.[6] 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.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Jesus Is King (2019)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  2. ^ "Jesus Is King (2019)". The Numbers. IMDb. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d Haring, Bruce (September 29, 2019). "Kanye West Will Unveil New IMAX Film, 'Jesus Is King', Celebrating His Sunday Service". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c Beresford, Trilby (September 28, 2019). "Kanye West, Imax Reveal Exclusive Movie Collaboration". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d Aswad, Jem (September 29, 2019). "Kanye West's 'Jesus Is King' Documentary Film Coming Next Month". Variety. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Willmore, Alison (October 25, 2019). "Movie Review: Jesus Is King, Kanye West's Experimental Doc". Vulture. Archived from the original on October 25, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Curto, Justin (October 25, 2019). "Everything in Kanye West's 'Jesus Is King' Movie". Vulture. Archived from the original on October 25, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  8. ^ Graham, Adam (December 17, 2019). "Movie review: Kanye West's 'Jesus is King' is not the gospel". The Detroit News. Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  9. ^ Platon, Adelle (October 24, 2019). "Kanye West's IMAX Film 'Jesus Is King': Inside the Los Angeles Premiere". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  10. ^ a b Blistein, Jon (November 1, 2019). "Beginning to See the Light: Kanye West's Fascination With James Turrell". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  11. ^ Gee, Andrew (October 28, 2019). "Kanye West's 'Jesus Is King' Film Reflects His Love For Gospel Music -- But Not Much Else". Uproxx. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  12. ^ Atkinson, Jessie (October 26, 2019). "5 things the new Kanye West film Jesus is King does". Gigwise. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  13. ^ Yeung, Neil Z. "Jesus is Born – Sunday Service Choir". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 25, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  14. ^ Sisson, Patrick (October 24, 2019). "Why 'Jesus is King', Kanye West's new film, was shot at a huge crater in the desert". Curbed. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  15. ^ a b Yoo, Noah (October 18, 2019). "Kanye Shares Trailer for New Jesus Is King IMAX Movie". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  16. ^ a b c Tigg, FNR (October 26, 2019). "'Jesus Is King' Director Nick Knight Compares Kanye West to Alexander McQueen". Complex. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  17. ^ Drury, Sharareh (19 October 2019). "Kanye West Aims to "Save Souls" in 'Jesus Is King' Trailer". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  18. ^ Avila, Pamela (19 October 2019). "Go Behind the Scenes of Kanye West's Jesus Is King Film". E!. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  19. ^ Kreps, Daniel (September 29, 2019). "Kanye West Announces 'Jesus Is King' IMAX Documentary". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  20. ^ Hughes, Hilary (September 29, 2019). "Kanye West to Release 'Jesus Is King' IMAX Film". Billboard. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  21. ^ Bloom, Madison (September 29, 2019). "Kanye West Announces New Jesus Is King Documentary". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  22. ^ a b c Ehlrich, David (October 25, 2019). "Jesus Is King Review: Kanye West's IMAX Film Falls Short of Divine". IndieWire. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  23. ^ @kanyewest (26 Jun 2020). "YZY GAP BEGINS MOWALOLA JOINS AS YZY GAP DESIGN DIRECTOR KSG CARTOON MURAKAMI CUDI JESUS IS KING FILM ON APPLE JAMES TURRELL YZY SPLY DOC NICK KNIGHT FOAM RUNNER RELEASE MADE IN USA JESUS IS KING DR. DRE VERSION WASH US IN THE BLOOD VIDEO ARTHUR JAFA #WESTDAYEVER" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. ^ "Jesus Is King". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  25. ^ "Jesus Is King Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  26. ^ a b Gilchrist, Tod (October 25, 2019). "'Jesus Is King' Film Review: Kanye West Documentary-Promo Is Both Too Short and Too Long". TheWrap. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  27. ^ a b Britton, Luke Morgan (October 26, 2019). "Jesus is King film review: Kanye stars in sublime but flawed visual journey". NME. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  28. ^ a b Kornhaber, Spencer (October 25, 2019). "Kanye West 'Jesus Is King' Film Review: Beautiful, Cold". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on October 26, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
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