Film Review: Forty-Seven Days with Jesus

Written by: Kelly Meade (03/05/24)

A new family film, Forty-Seven Days with Jesus, comes to theaters March 11, 12 & 14 with an inspirational story to celebrate the Easter season.

Life takes its toll whether it be on our health, career, family life, finances or any number of other things. For the Burdon family, they are experiencing all of these at once without realizing just how distant they’ve become.

Juliana & Joseph are a couple whose love for each other runs deep, but so does their dedication to their careers which has caused tension leading them to seek counseling. When they travel to Joseph’s parents for Easter, Joseph is faced with devoting time to his family or taking part in an important work-related meeting that could alter his career path for what he thinks is a better future.

Meanwhile, their children have been spending time with their grandparents, Poppa & Nonna, who are dealing with challenges of their own, but they’re determined not to let these struggles get in the way of strengthening the family bond.

When Poppa begins to share the story of Jesus’ final days on earth, the children become invested in hearing more. Both grandparents as well as Joseph & Juliana take turns continuing the story while making sure the kids are able to ask questions to help them further understand the true meaning of Easter.

At one point, Joseph’s father confronts him about how much time he’s spent on his phone with business calls and how his job has taken too high of a priority. Joseph realizes that he has let work interfere with his family life and his faith too much and vows to make a change.

Throughout the movie, we see the family’s story unfold while the biblical account of Jesus is also intertwined. These scenes accurately correspond with the Bible, however they are also depicted in musical format. For the most part, the musical aspect does not detract from the impactful story and adds a creative element to the film, however I personally felt that a couple of scenes could have been handled differently surrounding the subject of the crucifixion in particular. The story, while adhering to scripture, is read from a journaled composition notebook as opposed to an actual Bible.

In the end, Forty-Seven Days with Jesus is a film the entire family can watch together that provides opportunities for conversations about Jesus, His life and why we place our faith & trust in Him. Visit https://www.fathomevents.com/events/47-days-with-jesus/ for more information, theaters and showtimes near you.

Cast includes:
Yoshi Barrigas as Joseph Burdon
Catherine Lidstone as Juliana Burdon
Adam Perez Courtney as Daniel Burdon
Aliyah Camacho as Emma Burdon
Emilio Palame as Poppa
Norma Maldonado as Nonna
Jonathan Byram as Jesus

3.5/5