Blogging A to Z: D-ovekeepers
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| Photo credit: CBS 2015 |
As an Easter treat, I wanted to watch CBS’ new two-night mini-series, the Dovekeepers, in one sitting this weekend. It was viewable “on demand” so I could watch it in its entirety. And, my husband was napping (too much romance for his taste)!
Executive Product Roma Downey and her husband, Mark Burnett, bought the rights to New York Times best-selling author Alice Hoffman’s book, after traveling to Israel and visiting Masada. The female lead is played by Cote de Pablo, from NCIS fame, which caught my attention in the previews.
Dovekeepers tells the story of the Roman siege on 1,000 Jews who were hiding out on the desert-mountain, Masada. The story is both beautiful and tragic, and happened at the time of Passover over 2,000 years ago.
Since I haven’t yet read Hoffman’s book, I don’t have anything to compare the film to. I thought the character development was good and I was touched by the family relationships and the strong honor of the Jewish people. There is one point where de Pablo’s character, Shirah, is defending herself from an angry mob that thinks she is a witch. She cried out to Yahweh and said something like “our spirits are dry” and she prays for rain. The skies rumble and the crowd receives a shower lasting several minutes. Water is seen as life-giving, life-restoring.
There are four very strong women at the center of the story, which is unusual in Biblical times. The women work in the dovecote, which brings the women together spiritually as well physically. The doves represent purity and peace in the midst of war-torn Israel. Pragmatically, the doves are a source of food and their poo is used to fertilize their crops.
Spoiler alert: I was sad to learn that the Jewish men, women and children chose to be killed by their own people rather than surrender to the Romans who were about to penetrate the outer wall. In the Dovekeepers’ account, two women remained to tell the story.
I had many emotions after finishing the movie. I’m saddened that power corrupted the Romans to the extent that they wanted to wipe out the Jewish people. I’m not used to thinking about my faith from a militaristic viewpoint, something to be protected and fought over. I have the freedom to choose how I worship, which I take for granted. It also makes me grateful for my family and friends, and community of believers, who are with me on the journey.
4 Comments
Matthew MacNish
Sounds interesting!
2015 A to Z Challenge Co-Host
Matthew MacNish from The QQQE
Annmarie Miles
Oh I love Cote de Pablo. It sounds like a great series, I'll have to see if I can get it here in the UK.
Enjoy the AtoZ 🙂 x
Marianne (Mare) Baker Ball
I watched the first part of this and thought it was so interesting. I missed the second night, so I'll have to catch up. Are you watching A.D.? Another production by Burnett/Downey. Supposed to be good too. Happy a-z!
shirley dietz
Good writing – made me want to watch it. (also a NCIS fan).