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the dust as Judah drives on to win the race. The people cheer the Judaean
victory, and as Pilate awards Judah the laurel crown, the governor informs
him he has a message from Rome. In a dark room beneath the arena, a
dying but still arrogant Messala tells the doctor not to perform a lifesaving
amputation until he has seen Judah. When Judah arrives, Messala
senses his pity, so he vengefully reveals to him the truth about his mother
and sister: “Look for them in the Valley of the Lepers, if you can recognize
them.” Messala dies, gloating over Judah’s shock and pain.
Judah rushes outside the city to search for his family. At the Valley of
the Lepers he is warned away, but when he spies Esther and Malluch
delivering food to them, he angrily confronts Esther about her lie. Esther
begs Judah to honor his mother’s wish, and as the two women approach
and ask after Judah, he hides behind a boulder to conceal his torment. On
their way back to the city, Judah and Esther meet Balthasar at the edge of
a large crowd gathered to hear a preacher speak. Balthasar tells them it is
the man he is looking for, “the son of God.” As Esther stays to listen to the
sermon, Judah stalks away angrily, saying he has “business with Rome.” In
the governor’s reception hall, Pilate tells Judah the emperor has made him
a Roman citizen, but Judah rejects Rome as cruel and corrupt. Pilate urges
Judah to accept Rome’s control over the world, but affirming his Judaean
identity, Judah gives Pilate the Roman signet ring to return to Arrius.
When Judah returns home, Esther pleads with him to put away his
anger and find peace; but Judah is undeterred, resolving to “wash this
land clean” of Roman tyranny. Esther accuses him of turning into what he
hates: “It’s as though you had become Messala!” Stunned, Judah goes with
Esther to take Miriam and Tirzah, now dying, to hear the preacher from
Nazareth. Back in the city, they discover the Nazarene has been arrested
and condemned to death. They watch as he carries his heavy cross through
the streets. Judah recognizes him as the man who once gave him water on
his way to the galleys: “I know this man!” As Esther takes Miriam and
Tirzah away from the press of the crowd, Judah rushes to help the struggling
man. He tries to give him water, but the Roman soldiers shove him
away. With a multitude of others, Judah joins Balthasar to witness the
man’s execution, as he is nailed to the cross and crucified. Judah wonders
why the man has to die, but Balthasar realizes his death is a new beginning.
As a fierce thunderstorm arises and a strange gloom covers the land,
Esther takes refuge in a cave with Miriam and Tirzah. In the darkness,
flashes of lighting illuminate their faces, as Miriam and Tirzah are cured
of leprosy. At the villa, a transformed Judah tells Esther of his experience
hearing the Nazarene forgive his executioners as he died: “And I felt his
BEN-HUR (1959) 65