Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer

Writer, director and actor, Jean-Claude La Marre. - Contributed

The story of Christ has been labelled the greatest story ever told, and with good reason.

Combine issues of racial prejudice with an already potent story, and one should have a pretty fantastic tale. Alas! Colour of the Cross defies that assumption.

Like Mel Gibson's 'The Brutal Beating of the Christ' (officially known as The Passion of the Christ), Colour of the Cross tells the story of Christ's last hours on earth. Yet, whereas, The Passion of the Christ might be hard to bear for its brutality, Colour of the Cross is a little hard to bear for its tediousness.

The flick is not the first to bring the issue of colour into the story of Christ. The idea of a black Jesus already exists and it is one with which many people are not comfortable.

Language of the Jews

The pale man with the aquiline nose is so accepted that even in The Passion of the Christ, which reverted to the original language of the Jews and attempted to use people of a darker hue, a straight-nosed and lighter Jesus was retained.

As such, Colour on the Cross had the potential to be a potent story, but it is not. Written and directed by Jean-Claude La Marre (who also stars in the flick as Jesus), its attack on race is far too obvious to be effective. The film completely lacks emotional nuance and so cannot get to the emotive elements of the story.

The flick attempts to portray Christ as a man of peace, and, as such, features La Marre staring off into space or looking up at the sky. Swathed in white, he does appear to be quite peaceful, he simply is not interesting. On the other hand, the flick almost did a commendable job or exploring Judas Iscariot, but then it deviated into very rocky terrain which suggested it was merely an excuse to add some sex to the film.

Cardinal rule

The movie breaks the cardinal rule of effective storytelling, show don't tell, and attempts to tell us everything and show us next to nothing. Indeed, Colour of the Cross is also visually weak and presents nothing interesting to look at through its cinematography.

Along with Jean-Claude La Marre, Colour of the Cross also features Debbi Morgan as Mary, Johann John Jean as Judas Iscariot, and Jacinto Taras Riddick as Peter. The flick wants desperately to show the camaraderie and love shared by the disciples and Jesus but it can barely approximate it by talking about it.

In truth, the story of Christ could use some colour interjected in it. Alas! Colour of the Cross does a rather half-hearted job of painting on a darker hue. It barely even attempts to grapple with the real issues that would surround the idea of a black Christ and instead limits it to contemporary conceptions of race.

One would think that the story of Christ is so potent that any telling would be gripping. Yet, Colour of the Cross is such a pale telling that it is hardly interesting.