Film Friday When mystery writer Harlan Thrombey is found dead in his study there is a houseful of family members all ready to claim they had a perfectly wonderful relationship with him, and no motive whatsoever to bump off the poor rich chap. However, they have not bargained with the wily Benoit Blanc, a detective with an eye for detail and an instinct for the truth.
YouTube video
YouTube video
What is first judged to be suicide is starting to look a lot like murder, and there is more than a whiff of whodunnit in the air. Benoit will stop at nothing to solve this thing. Once he is on the trail he is set on bringing reality into the daylight. We all love a good mystery, as our enduring love for Agatha Christie only goes to prove. It’s merely a question of how long it will take Benoit Blanc to spot the cracks in this case and feel the collar of the guilty party.
And talking of mystery brings us nicely back to the conundrum of Christmas. A known bad guy, King Herod, is confronted with the news that there is another king in town. So what does he do? Well, instead of exploring this unexpected occurrence he does the opposite and attempts to shut things down. This is not so much a whodunnit, as a will-he-do-it. Herod has the chance to embark on the trail of this mystery king, but he’s having none of it, will not explore what he does not understand. When Jesus grew up he once said, ‘Blessed are those who are not offended by me.’ Well Herod was offended, he would not go near the mystery of the Bethlehem baby. Unlike the Centurion in the move Risen who, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, goes on a hunt for the missing body, even going so far as to open up graves and pull out dead bodies. He rests at nothing until he finally unearths the truth. As we draw near Christmas the mystery of the Bethlehem baby comes into our lives yet again. Inviting us to take a closer look, to find out more. Who is this baby really? Why all the fuss and the starlight, the songs and travellers? The adventure lies before us. Will we see beyond the clutter and the glitter and make our own journeys once more to discover more about the manger child and the man he came to be? This enigma wrapped in a mystery inside a manger. The trail lies before us, the case is afoot…
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Great post Dave. I love what you say about Herod.