Review of Jerome Bixby's "Man from Earth"

When movies stop dressing themselves up as the expertise on religious discourse we will all be better for it. Movies that show the human condition--the historic patterns of creation, de-creation, and restoration--do well enough. But when a film stoops to preaching at audience through predicable dialogue and an unchallenged premise, we see a patronizing of the art (and our attention). I refer to "Jerome Bixby's Man from Earth. " The story'"if one can so describe this non-developing plotline a story--is about John Oldman who, after 10 years in one place, decides to move on. Before doing so, he takes the risk of revealing that he is in fact 14,000 years old.

Thus begins the conversation between the professor John (who is The Man from Earth), Edith (the Christian literalist), Harry (the Biologist), Will Gruber (the Psychiatrist), Dan (the Anthropologist), Art (the Archaeologies) and Sandy (the Historian.) Continued cross examination eventually drives John to the confession that is at the heart of the film: He was/is Jesus. Well, to put it mildly, he was the human who tried to teach the principles of the Buddha'"who was followed by some dudes (aka Disciples) who bunked up his teaching and then dressed it all up in myth and ideology. Of course at this point, viewers have had to ignore all genuine history, over 1000 eye-witness accounts, and the attestation of people who died for their beliefs; not to mention, overlooking the flat, uninteresting characters. And thus the film runs as a poor answer to true and legitimate questions concerning Christianity.

Based on the classic "liar, lunatic, or Lord (truth)" metric'"the movie spins round and round a shallowly challenged premise offered by the main character. Nor does it remotely resemble the science fiction to which it is compared'"the box tantalizes with "from the writers of Star Trek." Dressed up with new age music that played an indistinct tune, the film presents itself as fiction, but is more a commentary seeking the upending of established Judeo-Christian religious views'"oh, and not to be complete without some plea for the environment:

Dan, "What do you think about it [religion]?"
John, "You can't get there with thought."
Dan, "You have faith?"
John, "In a lot of things."
Sandy, "Do you have faith in the future of the race?"
John, "I've seen species come and go. Depends on their balance with the environment."
Dan, "We've made a mess of it."
John, "There's still time, if we use it well."

Consider the possibility--one man, living 14,000 years! Instead of facing the resetting nature of death, wherein an individual can pour 60 or 70 years into one field but then have his life end--this Man from Earth could have mastered one field. Cancer could have been eradicated. The mystery of light--is it a wave or a particle--could have been solved. Solutions for extending the natural existence for all humanity. For God's sake, anything! But no, John is concerned only for one thing: making sure he doesn't become a case study for science. Oh, and fixing the error of his first century disciples who turned his apparent death into a religion. Does it sound just a little preachy? It should, deafeningly so, for a movie's sole intention to debunk the content of all sermons if not craft of sermonic oration as well.

Ironically, despite the fact that he has lived 14,000 years (granted, he only remembers recent history) and he can tell us about Columbus, Picasso, the Buddha, and other such historical figures (for someone with limited memory, he really got around!)--John doesn't speak any of the languages of those proposed epochs: no hints of French or German, Koine Greek, nor even the slightest Latin phrase--like Tabula Rasa which means clean slate (which is what I think the directors hoped we would be before their -- ah, em, theatrical attempts).

This significant linguistic oversight is the comical weakness of the film. For a moment, should the audience suspend all disbelief at this philosophic discourse--the 14K man who meets all the right type of occupations to be able to prove himself sane, non-manipulative, historically possible, and not a liar must be (wait for it) "Lord." Yes, there's the main plot. John...ah, The Man from Earth is Jesus -- eh, I mean, the dude that people worship as Jesus. Why? Because Jeremy Bixby wants you to believe that belief in a 14K year-old-man isn't half as improbable as a God becoming man!

Strung along, audiences are hopeful for some redemption in the plot. Believe me, there is none. Predictably, the film ends as it began: disappointingly and with much ado. The 14K year old man rides off into the sunset with little more than a few personal belongings and the recently acquired token chick. This film could not have less suited to English speaking audiences (or more unsatisfying) had it been shot on the moon with dialogue in T'wampa. (Fortunately for me, I don't have to explain where they speak that language since the Jerome Bixby's Man from Earth can only speak English.)