History Literature / JesusVideo

** The Israeli police is apathetic when Steffen goes to them and surrenders him to the Lucanians as soon as they show up at the station. From which Steffen then escapes with little difficulty. Afterward, the police is largely absent from the story, even though the main characters move unconcealed through Jerusalem and we are told they are after them. Steffen also tries to get help from the German embassy, but they just advice him to surrender to the Israeli police.
** Later we are told that the embassy if full of microphones from other nations' intelligence services.

* AllForNothing: [[spoiler:The video is destroyed after only showing some seconds of footage. However the whole adventure proves that Time Travel will be perfected and Sharon and Steffen will live together.]]

** The camera is also in working order after 2,000 years, only needing a new battery. It was even played once (at least) 500 years ago and 1,500 years after it was buried.

* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: Almost everytime Steffen thinks he has found the camera, it turns out to be somehwere else.

* YouAlreadyChangedThePast[=/=]YouWillBeBeethoven: [[spoiler:Steffen]] becomes the Time Traveler and maker of the video, and as a result, the very skeleton in the archaeological dig he was working at. [[spoiler:Neither is Jesus, however.]]

* AllForNothing: [[spoiler:The video and camera are destroyed after only showing some seconds of footage. However the whole adventure proves that Time Travel will be perfected and Sharon and Steffen will live together.]]

* BondVillainStupidity: The first time the Lucanians come across Steffen they try to shoot him, but they don't afterwards, despite having plenty of times to do so (even capturing and holding him unconscious twice).

* CPRCleanPrettyReliable: [[spoiler:Sharon]] is shot and left for dead, but moves after being given some oxygen (and in spite of the doctor claiming that she needs a blood transfusion]]. [[spoiler:She's back on her feet and like nothing happened even before Steffen's face wounds heal.]]

%%* RagnarokProofing

* AgentMulder: Steffen decides with little prompt that the skeleton belongs to a Time Traveler (and is not, say, a hoax), that the Time Traveler filmed a video of Jesus, and that there must be a conspiracy to cover it up or use it for nefarious ends. And he's right about everything.

%%* BadassIsraeli

%%* BondVillainStupidity
* TheBrute: Jung for Kaun, the man with the broken nose for Scafaro.
* ChristianityIsCatholic: "Christianity" and "the Church" are mentioned only by these names, and are shown to be headquartered in Rome.

* TheConstant: The Time Traveler hides the video in the only place he knows will survive for 2,000 years. [[spoiler:The Wailing Wall.]]

* IChooseToStay: [[spoiler:The video also reveals that Steffen and Sharon ended living together in Biblical Jerusalem]].

* MacGuffin: The videocamera that the manual belongs to, which was in Biblical times and contains a video of Jesus.
* MauveShirt: [[spoiler:Dan]] is killed by the Lucanians halfway through part 1.
* MurderTheHypotenuse: [[spoiler:Yehoshuah is shot by the Lucanians, allowing Steffen and Sharon to end together]].

%%* PlotArmor
%%* PoliceAreUseless

* ShoutOut: Archaeology student Steffen [[Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk wears a fedora and cracks a whip]] during an action scene.

* TemporalParadox:
** A lab rat's future self starts to materialize next to it while investigating time travel, but when the horrified investigator aborts the process, the future mouse disappears and the present mouse ends never travelling in time at all.
** Steffen [[spoiler: is the owner of the skeleton who kickstarts the plot (and his own interest in time travel).]]
** Kaun started financing the excavation because a previous dig in the 1930s found a pen reading "John Kaun enterprises" in the site.

* TimePassageBeard: The video shows [[spoiler:Steffen having grown a beard after travelling to Biblical times.]]

* YouWillBeBeethoven: [[spoiler:Steffen]] becomes the Time Traveler and maker of the video, and as a result, the very skeleton in the archaeological dig he was working at. [[spoiler:Neither is Jesus, however.]]

* TimeAndRelativeDimensionsInSpace: [[spoiler:Kaun]]'s Time Machine can send objects into the past and future, but they materialize in the same spot where they were; as Earth rotates and moves through space, an object sent 4 seconds into the future will materialize in the air just outside the machine.

* AgentMulder: Steffen decides with little prompt that the skeleton belongs to a Time Traveler (and is not, say, a hoax), that the Time Traveler filmed a video of Jesus, and that there must be a conspiracy to cover it up or use it for some nefarious end. And he's right about everything.
* AmericaSavesTheDay: [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope Subverted]].]] Near the end of part 1, an American agent named Christopher barges in and effortlessly kills the Vatican thugs that have been troubling Steffen for most of the movie. He then offers to drive Steffen to the American embassy where he'll be safe [[spoiler:but instead takes him to an abandoned warehouse where he reveals that it was all a ruse to take him out of the hotel, and Christopher is also part of the conspiracy.]]
* AndIMustScream: In the early days of TimeTravel a test mouse sent some seconds into the future appears as a charred, yet moving corpse.

* BerserkButton[=/=]SeriousBusiness: Scafaro is so incensed when Steffen blasphemes while being tortured that he chooses to come out of hiding and reveal the nature of his organization, just to make him apologize (under threat of plucking his eye out with a scalpel).

* ChristianityIsCatholic: "Christianity" and "the Church" are mentioned only by those names, and shown to be headquartered in Rome.
* ChurchMilitant: Scafaro and his fixers, who work for the Vatican off the record.
* ColdBloodedTorture: Steffen is abducted and tortured by the Vatican secret society of Scafaro near the end of part 1, in order to make him confess the whereabouts of the camera (which he doesn't know).

* TheConspiracy: There are [[TwoLinesNoWaiting two]] - one led by Kaun, the man financing the excavation, and another involving a secret society in the Vatican. Both are after the camera and Steffen.
* CorruptChurch: Just as Steffen ends pondering that the video (which he has not seen, and is only hypothetical) might prove the Church lied about Jesus Christ and they would want to cover it up, the scene changes to the Vatican, where the Church already knows about the finding, has images of it and all involved, and is discussing if they should cover it up.
* DeathByAdaptation: Unlike in the novel, Steffen's [[spoiler:teacher]] and [[spoiler:Yehoshuah]] are murdered by the conspiracy.
* {{Demythification}}: Steffen ponders that the video might show Jesus was a simple preacher from the time and not a miracle man son of God.

* ForeignCorrespondent: Steffen is a German archaeology student in Israel and an atheist (though he believes Jesus was a historical figure).

* HippieJesus: Referenced by Steffen while discussing what the video might show.

* MacGuffin: The videocamera that the manual belongs to. It was also in Biblical times and contains a video of Jesus.
* MauveShirt: [[spoiler:Dan]] is killed by the Vatican conspiracy halfway through part 1.
* MurderTheHypotenuse: [[spoiler:Yehoshuah is shot by the Vatican conspiracy, allowing Steffen and Sharon to end together]].

* PopCulturalOsmosisFailure: Steffen compares believing in God with believing in Literature/MayaTheBee, which Yehoshuah has never heard about.
* ProperlyParanoid: Sharon does not hide her suspicion when Steffen rings her door at 4 in the morning, forces him to stand in the middle of the street before opening, and then 'welcomes' him with a submachine gun pointing at him. Ironically, she then accusses Steffen of being paranoid when he tells her that someone is chasing him (and is entirely right about).

* RealityHasNoSubtitles: While the words of the Vatican fixers are often subtitled, the Hebrew newscasts are not. The Israeli characters understand, but Steffen does not.

* TheStoner: One picks Steffen in the desert and returns him to Jerusalem, after Steffen escapes from the man with the broken nose's van.
* TeleporterAccident: During the development of TimeTravel, a lab mouse ''[[MindScrew planned]]'' to be sent a few seconds into the future starts to materialize as [[AndIMustScream a charred, yet moving corpse]]. The investigator aborts the process, causing the future charred mouse to disappear.

** A lab mouse's future self starts to materialize next to it while investigating time travel, but when the horrified investigator aborts the process, the future mouse disappears and the present mouse ends never travelling in time at all.

* WriteBackToTheFuture: The skeleton is found with a letter and the instruction manual for a camera that won't be released until 2003.

* AgentMulder: Steffen decides with little prompt that the skeleton belongs to a Time Traveler (and not a hoax for example), that the Time Traveler filmed a video of Jesus, and that there must be a conspiracy or conspiracies to cover it up or use it for some nefarious end. And he's right about everything.

* {{Demythification}}: The video is proof that Jesus Christ [[spoiler:never resurrected]].

* ForeignCorrespondent: Steffen is a German archaeology student in Israel and an atheist (though he does believe Jesus was a historical figure).

%%* TruthSerums

* AmericaSavesTheDay: [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope Subverted]].]] Near the end of part 1, an American agent named Christopher barges in and [[TheWorfEffect effortlessly kills the Vatican thugs]] that have been troubling Steffen for most of the movie. He then offers to drive Steffen to the American embassy where he'll be safe [[spoiler:but instead takes him to an abandoned warehouse where he reveals that it was all a ruse to take him out of the hotel, and Christopher is also part of the conspiracy.]]

* CorruptChurch: Just as Steffen ends pondering that the video (which he has not seen) might prove the Church lied about Jesus Christ and they would want to cover it up, the scene changes to the Vatican, where the Church already knows about the finding, has images of it and all involved, and is discussing if they should cover it up.

%%* AmericaSavesTheDay

%%* BadassIsraeli: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] and [[JustifiedTrope justified]] with Sharon since, as she herself points out, all Israeli citizens must serve in the military and she's a reservist.
%%* TheBrute
%%* ChristianityIsCatholic
%%* ChurchMilitant
* ColdBloodedTorture: Steffen is abducted and tortured by the Vatican secret society of Scarfaro.

%%* FakingTheDead

* AdaptationalNationality: The main character is German in the movie.

* CorruptChurch: Just as Steffen ends pondering that the video might prove the Church lied about Jesus Christ and they would want to cover it up, the scene changes to the Vatican, where the Church already knows about the finding, has images of it and those involved, and is discussing if they should cover it up.

* WalkingShirtlessScene: Steffen spends ''a lot'' of movie time in his underwear (sometimes less).

* ColdBloodedTorture: Steffen is abducted and tortured by a Vatican secret society led by Scarfaro.

* HollywoodAtheist: Steffen was raised Christian (presumably [[RaisedCatholic Catholic]]) but lost his faith when his parents and sister were killed in a car accident.

* AdaptationNameChange: Stephen Fox is changed to "Steffen Vogt" and Judith Menez to "Sharon Menez".

* AdaptationalJerkass: Yehoshuah is changed from Menez's brother to her jealous boyfriend.

* TheConspiracy[=/=]CorruptChurch: A secret organization within the Vatican is also after the camera and battles the main characters because they want to destroy it.

* ForeignCorrespondent: Steffen is a German archaeology student in Israel and also an atheist (though he does believe Jesus was a historical figure).

* WriteBackToTheFuture: The skeleton is found with the instruction manual for a camera that won't be released until 2003, along with a modern surgical screws and tooth fillings.

* ActionizedAdaptation: The novel is 600 pages long and contains long disertations on the nature of time travel and the development of religions. The movie, despite being three hours long, largely substitutes these with new action scenes.

* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: Sharon and Yehoshuah are changed from siblings in the novel to girlfriend and boyfriend in the movie.

* AdaptationalNationality: The main character and archaeology team are German in the movie.

* CompositeCharacter: Steffen himself becomes [[spoiler:the time traveler]], while they were different characters in the novel.
* TheConspiracy: A secret organization from the Vatican is also after the camera and battles the main characters because they want to destroy it.

* RagnarokProofing: The videocamera is in working order and the manual is readable despite being buried for 2000 years.

* WriteBackToTheFuture: The skeleton is found with the instruction manual for a camera that won't be released until 2003.
* YouWillBeBeethoven: [[spoiler:Steffen]] becomes the Time Traveler and maker of the video, and as a result, the very skeleton in the archaeological dig he was working at. Despite expectations, neither turns out to be Jesus, however.

During an archaeological excavation in Israel, American college student Stephen Foxx finds the skeleton of a man from the times of Jesus that carried a shocking item with him: the user manual of a modern digital video camera that will not be released until two years in the future. They conclude that the dead man was a time traveller from the future, who went back in time to film Jesus Christ himself, a discovery that could send shockwaves around the planet. The financier of the dig, media magnate John Kaun, initiates a search for the camera, which is also sought by UsefulNotes/TheCatholicChurch. Helped by Israeli student Judith Menez and her brother Yehoshuah, Stephen will be forced to participate in a dangerous race for the Jesus Video.

During an archaeological excavation in Israel, American college student Stephen Foxx finds the skeleton of a man from the times of Jesus that carried a shocking item with him: the user manual of a modern digital video camera that will not be released until two years in the future. They conclude that the dead man was a time traveller from the future, who went back in time to film Jesus Christ himself, a discovery that could send shockwaves around the planet. The financier of the dig, media magnate John Kaun, initiates a search for the camera, which is also sought by the Catholic Church. Helped by Israeli student Judith Menez and her brother Yehoshuah, Stephen will be forced to participate in a dangerous race for the Jesus Video.

* AdaptationalJerkass: Yehoshuah is changed from Menez's brother to her jealous boyfriend.

* UnrelatedInTheAdaptation: Sharon and Yehoshuah are changed from siblings in the novel to girlfriend and boyfriend in the movie.

* TimeTravel: The half of the movie that is not religious conspiracy and commentary.

* TeleporterAccident: During the development of TimeTravel, a lab mouse ''[[MindScrew planned]]'' to be sent a few seconds into the future, starts to materialize as [[AndIMustScream a charred, yet moving corpse]]. The investigator aborts the process, causing the future charred mouse to disappear.

* ActionizedAdaptation: The novel is 600 pages long and contains long disertations on the nature of time travel and the development of religions. The movie, despite being three hours long, largely substitutes this with new action scenes.

%%* TeleporterAccident:
%%* TemporalParadox:

%%* TimeTravel:
%%* UnrelatedInTheAdaptation:

%%* YouWillBeBeethoven:

!!Contains examples of:
* AdaptationNameChange: The TV movie changes Stephen Fox to "Steffen Vogt" and Judith Menez to "Sharon Menez".
* CompositeCharacter: In the TV movie, [[spoiler:Steffen himself turns out to be the time traveler]], while they were different characters in the novel.