Wow, do we have a conversation for you! My filmmaker-theologian friend Sarey Martin Concepción and I sat down with director Lotfy Nathan about his wild new film “The Carpenter’s Son“—and let me tell you, this isn’t your Sunday school Jesus. We’re talking Nicholas Cage as Joseph (yes, he’s a national treasure), FKA twigs bringing something totally unconventional to Mary, and demon snakes that literally made my phone start searching when I mentioned them. The film pulls from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas—one of those apocryphal texts that didn’t make the canonical cut but the Coptic Orthodox Church has preserved—and asks the question nobody really wants to ask: what was it actually like for Jesus to figure out he was, you know, God? Nathan, who grew up Coptic Christian himself, doesn’t sanitize anything here. We dig into all the big stuff: identity crises, divine vocation, the problem of suffering, and what happens when your kid can perform miracles but doesn’t quite get the whole “with great power” thing yet. Fair warning: I watched this alone in the dark and those demon snakes freaked me out. But underneath the horror elements, there’s this sincere, thoughtful wrestling with what incarnation really means. November 14th, folks—see it in theaters where you can properly freak out with other people.
About the Film
Okay, listen—I know “Nicholas Cage plays Joseph in a horror-tinged Jesus origin story” sounds like it could go sideways real fast, but stick with me here. “The Carpenter’s Son” (November 17th in theaters) is actually something special. Director Lotfy Nathan grew up Coptic Orthodox and brings that insider perspective to the Infancy Gospel of Thomas—yeah, that apocryphal text about young Jesus that most of us theology nerds have read but never thought we’d see on screen.
Here’s the thing: this film takes seriously what most biblical epics are too scared to touch. What’s it like being Mary and Joseph trying to raise a kid who’s literally divine? We’re talking about a boy in Roman Egypt discovering he can raise the dead but maybe doesn’t have the wisdom yet to know when he should. There’s demon snakes (I’m still processing those), crucifixions that aren’t THE crucifixion but sure do foreshadow it, and this fascinating character called “the accuser” who basically shows up to ask Jesus if he really wants to take on his Father’s business given how messed up creation is.
Look, I’ll be honest—I’m right on the borderline with horror films, but this isn’t cheap scares or camp. It’s more like those medieval paintings where they weren’t afraid to show both the divine and the demonic in all their intensity. Nathan’s created something that’s reverent and unsettling at the same time, asking real questions about suffering, identity, and what incarnation actually means. Plus, FKA twigs as Mary? Inspired casting that brings something totally fresh to a character we thought we knew.
See it in a theater—trust me, you want other people around when those demon snakes show up, and you’ll definitely want folks to process with afterward. This is the kind of provocative, thoughtful religious filmmaking that gets conversations going way past the parking lot. Whether you’re into theological questions, appreciate good horror, or just want to see something genuinely different, this film delivers. Just maybe catch the afternoon showing if you’re sensitive like me and want to avoid demon snakes coming out of the mouths of people in your dreams.
You can check out Sarey’s work over at Secret Art Project.
Register for the NEW ADVENT CLASS with Diana Butler Bass!
Join us for a transformative four-week Advent journey exploring how the four gospels speak their own revolutionary word against empire—both in their ancient context under Roman occupation and for our contemporary world shaped by capitalism, militarism, and nationalism.
Advent marks the beginning of the church year—an invitation to step out of the empire’s time and into God’s time, where the last are first, the mighty are scattered, and a child born in occupied territory changes everything.
This course invites you into an alternative calendar and rhythm. While our modern world races through December toward consumption and productivity, Advent calls us to a different time—a counter-imperial waiting, a subversive hope, a radical reimagining of how God enters the world.
Each week, we’ll hear one gospel’s unique vision of the birth narrative, allowing Matthew, Luke, John, and Mark to speak in their own voices about what it means for God to show up when empires think they’re in control. We’ll discover how these ancient texts of resistance offer wisdom for our own moment of political turmoil, economic inequality, and ecological crisis.
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