One of the great things about big movie houses is that they have the capacity to offer something for just about everyone, which is true for many of the AMC Theatres locations nationwide. This means, movie enthusiast have access to everything from upcoming family-friendly animated releases like THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE, feel-good sports comedies like CHAMPIONS, and religious films like HIS ONLY SON.
Starting Friday, March 31st, a little more than a week before the Easter holiday, David Helling’s new faith-based movie will bring one of the most well-known and consequential stories from the Old Testament to the big screen for a limited time. Before you go off and buy tickets for your family and yourself, here are a few things to know about HIS ONLY SON, the latest in a long line of Biblical theatrical releases.
The Story Of Abraham And Isaac On Mount Moriah
HIS ONLY SON centers on Abraham as he is commanded by God to complete a devastating and unthinkable task: perform a human sacrifice of his only son, Isaac, on the mountain of Moriah. But while on the three-day journey to the top of the mountain to sacrifice his child, the patriarch of the family can’t help but look back on the memories he has shared with the boy as well as the times he and his wife, Sarah, spent wishing for a child, one that he would eventually be ordered to kill.
Nicolas Mouawad, Sara Seyed And Edann Moskowitz Star
Those who head to theatres to see HIS ONLY SON bring the story of Abraham to life on the big screen, you will get to witness the performances by the movie’s cast of talented actors. Leading the group is Nicolas Mouawad, who takes on the role of Abraham, the father at the center of one of the most unforgettable and controversial stories of the Old Testament. Audiences may recognize the Lebanese film actor from his portrayal of King Solomon in George Miller’s 2022 epic, THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING.
Taking on the role Abraham’s only son, Isaac, is Edann Moskowitz, who is making his feature length acting debut in HIS ONLY SON. Prior to that, Moskowitz appeared in a number of short films, as well as an episode of “The Brink” in 2015.
And playing Abraham’s loving wife, Sarah, is Sara Seyed, who some may recognize from her time on the Netflix crime thriller series, “Young Wallander” in 2022.
David Helling’s Feature Directorial Debut
Bringing the Biblical story to life is filmmaker David Helling, who is making his feature directorial debut after working on a number of faith-based short films over the years. When speaking with Thoughts & Spoilers ahead of HIS ONLY SON’s release, Helling opened up about how the movie originally started out as something much smaller:
“I actually thought about doing it as a short film for my church’s Christmas production, and just have like what would it be to explore in a short film Abraham and Isaac walking up Mount Moriah to the place of the offering, and Abraham, remembering all the promises of God, having to reconcile, ‘I have to lay down this son who was promised by God, I now have to give him up,’ and the war that had been going on in Abraham’s mind.”
But as he started to think more about the project, Helling thought that expanding the story to include the days-long journey and focusing Abraham’s thought process could actually work:
“I wanted to explore that, and I thought about doing it in a short film, and over time in thinking about it, I was like you know, this could really be a feature, and instead of focusing on just the walk up the hill, it could focus on the full, three-day journey.’”
So, what started out as a short film turned into one that’s longer than 100 minutes, as well as one that fleshes out the time-honored story of Abraham and Isaac.
If you are looking for the next faith-based movie, look no further than HIS ONLY SON, which is playing in select AMC Theatres starting Friday, March 31, 2023. Make sure to check your local listings to see if it’s coming to a movie screen near you.
HIS ONLY SON opens March 31st
