Noah (2014 film)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Noah is a 2014 American biblically inspired epic directed by Darren Aronofsky, written by Aronofsky and Ari Handel, and based loosely on the story of Noah's Ark from the Book of Genesis.
Plot
As a young boy, Noah witnesses his father, Lamech, killed by a young Tubal-cain. Many years later an adult Noah is living with his wife Naameh and their sons Shem, Ham and Japheth. After seeing a flower grow instantly from the ground and being haunted by dreams of a great flood, Noah takes them to visit his grandfather, Methuselah.
They encounter a group of people recently killed and adopt the lone survivor, a girl named Ila. Noah and his family are chased by Tubal-cain and his men but seek refuge with the fallen angels known as the "Watchers", confined on Earth as stone golems (nephilim) for helping humans banished from the Garden of Eden. Methuselah gives Noah a seed from Eden and tells Noah that he was chosen for a reason. Returning to his tent that night, Noah plants the seed into the ground. The Watchers arrive the next morning and debate whether they should help Noah until they see water spout from the spot where Noah planted the seed. A forest grows quickly, and the Watchers state that they will help Noah do the Creator's bidding. The trees are cut by the Watchers to build Noah's Ark with the help of Noah and his family.
After birds fly to the Ark, Tubal-cain arrives with his followers and confronts Noah about his reasons for building the Ark. Noah defies Tubal-cain and remarks that there is no escape for the line of Cain. Tubal-cain retreats and decides to build weapons to defeat the Watchers and take the Ark. As the Ark nears completion, animals of various species enter the Ark and are put to sleep with incense.
With Ila having become enamored of Shem, Noah goes to a nearby settlement to find wives for Ham and Japheth, but upon witnessing humans being traded and apparently slaughtered for food, he abandons his effort and begins believing that the creator wants all of humanity dead. Methuselah cures Ila of sterility while Ham, searching for a wife on his own, befriends the refugee Na'el.
The rain starts falling, and Tubal-cain becomes angry that he was not chosen to be saved. The followers of Tubal-cain make a run for the Ark. Noah finds Ham in the forest and forces Ham to save himself but leave Na'el to die when she is caught in an animal trap. Noah's family enter the Ark except for Methuselah, who remains in the forest and is swept away by the rushing waters. The Watchers hold off Tubal-cain and his followers as long as possible, sacrificing themselves to protect the Ark from the mob. They ascend to Heaven after leaving their mortal stone form. As the flood drowns the remaining humans, an injured Tubal-cain climbs onto the Ark and solicits Ham, playing on anger toward Noah for allowing Na'el to die.
Ila becomes pregnant as the rains stop, and begs the creator to let the child live. Noah interprets the ending of rain to mean he must carry out the execution, and against his wife's dissuasions, resolves that if the child is a girl, he will kill her to satisfy the Creator's wish to destroy humanity. Months pass, and Ila and Shem build a raft to escape Noah's resolve, but Noah discovers and burns it. Ila gives birth to twin girls. Tubal-cain convinces Ham to help kill Noah, who is then attacked by Tubal-cain, Ham and Shem. As they fight the Ark strikes a mountain and Ham kills Tubal-cain. Noah seizes Ila's twins, but he spares them upon looking at his granddaughters and only feeling love.
Upon exiting the Ark, Noah goes into isolation in a nearby cave and starts drinking wine. His sons find him without clothes and in a drunken stupor. Ham leaves his kin to live alone. Having reconciled at the behest of Ila, Noah blesses the family as the beginning of a new human race, and all witness an immense rainbow.
