The Christian Century

Anyone with a taste for sharp satire will en­joy the wickedly funny 2003 film James' Journey to Jeru­salem, which uses the familiar device of a wide-eyed Can­dide figure to expose the foibles of contemporary society—in this case, the state of Israel.

For American viewers, one surprising feature of the film is the background of James himself. He is a devoted Afri­can Christian. Clearly, the idea of African Christians in Israel is not considered even slightly strange in the film, and a moving scene shows James gathering with other immigrant believers in a crowded church. He moves in a transplanted African world that differs little from the better-known Christian expatriate communities of Europe.