Legend of Destruction, directed and produced by friend of The Fellowship Gidi Dar, is a riveting historical epic that tells the story of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple. Instead of using actors, sets, and special effects, the story is told through more than 1,500 paintings by David Polonsky and Michael Faust.
Dar says, “At its heart, the film portrays a deeply polarized society hurtling toward its own ruin — a dynamic that, I would suggest, resonates with the condition of many democracies today. The destruction of the Temple stands among the most formative events in Jewish history, and it likewise occupies a place of central importance in Christian history and theology. Jesus’s own prophecy — ‘Not one stone here will be left on another’ — is perhaps his most renowned prophetic statement concerning a specific historical event.”
The film took nearly eight years to develop—three years to conceptualize and storyboard and another four and a half years for the artists to complete the paintings.
In 2023, production of the English version of the film was completed with an all-star English-speaking voice cast featuring Oscar Isaac, Elliott Gould, Evangeline Lilly, Billy Zane, and Marilu Henner. The film’s release was delayed due to the October 7 attacks and the war that followed. The film is now being released worldwide.
Legend of Destruction asks, “How does one stay holy when one’s entire world is threatened?” The story becomes a test of faith and unity—perhaps even a test from God. We see this test through the eyes of Ben Batich. As a young man, he is prone to putting people and causes before God, while his rabbi urges him to do the opposite.
Ben Batich lives in Jerusalem during the Second Temple period nearly 2,000 years ago. At this time, the Roman Empire rules the land, collecting taxes from the Temple, while the Temple’s high priests grow complacent under Roman oppression. Batich is guided by his uncle, Rabbi Yohana Ben Zakkai. After a Jewish revolt erupts while a Roman official is visiting, Batich finds himself plunged into the underground world of rebellion, religious zealotry, and feuding factions within the Holy City as everyone does what they can to save it from the Roman threat.
In the end, the Romans surround the city as various Jewish factions, beset by division and strife, wage war against one another. But when the Romans begin to lay siege to the Holy City, the Jews stop fighting each other and unite against them. Sadly, it’s too little, too late, and both the city and Temple are destroyed. Batich, who has continuously called out to God throughout the story, speaks to Him one more time. Before he perishes, he reflects on his belief that if the Jewish people continue to trust in God and remain united, they will endure – a universal message that Jews and Christians alike can relate to.
The paintings by Polonsky and Faust truly bring the story to life. Using historical depictions, Talmudic accounts, and assistance from the Temple Institute in Jerusalem, the artists sought to capture what Jewish life might have looked like during this period. Because the paintings were carefully storyboarded, they connect seamlessly with one another. Legend of Destruction is a stunning, dramatic interpretation of what was happening in Jerusalem when it fell in 70 C.E. and is a film that both Jews and Christians will find engaging, historically informative, and enlightening.
Legend of Destruction is available to watch at legendofdestruction.com.