First end-of-the-world story explored in ‘Noah’

MANILA, Philippines – Academy Award winner Russell Crowe stars as the man chosen to undertake a momentous mission of rescue before an apocalyptic flood destroys in the upcoming “Noah.”

Directed by Darren Aronofsky, “Noah” will tell the story of Noah’s Ark taken from the book of Genesis in the Hebrew and Christian Bible. In the biblical tale, Noah is tasked by God to make an ark and fill it with two of every sort of living before The Great Flood happens. The film is a cinematic retelling of this biblical account.

Leading the cast is Crowe who plays the titular character and Jennifer Connelly who plays Naameh, Noah’s wife.

Joining the cast are Emma Watson, Anthony Hopkins, and Logan Lerman, among others. 

Although a well-known story across several religions and culture, the story of Noah has been done as a full-scale, straight-on film. 

 â€œThere are comedic versions, there are animated versions, and there was even a Broadway version with Danny Kaye that was a musical,” said “Noah” director and co-writer Aronofsky. “Historically, the approach has always veered towards folklore, humor and children’s stories.” 

He added, “But if you look at the story’s place in Genesis, there is so much more to it than just the animals going two-by-two. It’s the story of ten generations of wickedness of man that eventually climaxes in God coming to a place where he wants to redo it all. For me, it was the very first end-of-the-world story.”

It was also a story he felt could be finally be told viscerally through 21st Century filmmaking techniques. He said: “I didn’t want to add further to the clichéd preconceptions we already have from pop culture … I wanted this Noah to feel fresh, immediate and real.”

Aronofsky’s fascination with “Noah” began at the age of 13: while writing a prize-winning school poem about Noah that Aronofsky initially realized he wanted to be a writer. Only later, as he began his filmmaking career, did he dare to dream of one day expanding the story into a hugely ambitious motion picture. He knew it would be the greatest challenge of his career. 

But he also began to envision a way to ground the story for today’s film audiences: by imagining Noah’s family – their fears and hopes, their conflicts and their search for meaning—amidst these extraordinary events.

“As the story of the first apocalypse, imagining how a family would survive that was extremely interesting to me,” says the director.

(Opening across the Philippines on April 02, “Noah” will be distributed in the Philippines by United International Pictures.)