In the name of LOVE

Good Friday… it probably was called so for a purpose.


I’ve been waiting for an occasion to review this film. Today feels like a perfect day for that. You might have heard about this one - one of my all time favorite movies

THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST



Right, it’s THAT movie by Martin Scorsese, released in the year 1988, widely considered the most “blasphemous” interpretation of the story almost everyone on this planet has heard at least once… Before writing this review, I decided to take some time and find out more (in 1988 I was just about to go to school) about the “astonishing”, as Roger Ebert puts it, controversy surrounding the picture. I didn’t regret the time taken. There are quite a few honest and interesting impressions here at Eps, and if you feel like reading more of what people thought about it upon the film’s release, my suggestion would be for you to go to www.IMDB.com - both viewers’ and newspaper reviews contain all you might wish to know. I’ll only sum it up.



The controversy

The story’s largely the same. Largely. Christ, the Son of God realizes He’s… the Son of God. He feels he has to give His life to God. But the movie actually gets into gear much earlier than He starts doing what the Bible describes him do, showing Jesus go to a woman… he obviously feels something for. Oops! This woman is Mary Magdalene - a prostitute, who obviously too loves Jesus. This, almost opening scene often makes me wonder how many people walked out/turned off/quitted at this moment, not bothering to see the rest of it. Not only NOTHING happens here, before Jesus walks out of her room Mary actually mentions His zeal to remain innocent…

The feelings for Mary would be number one. Then, the problem number two undoubtedly was Judas - not only has Martin Scorsese made the most notorious figure in the entire New Testament a totally positive (as positive as a human gets in the Bible) character, he also has Judas become the first disciple of Jesus - but that’s not all - in the end, he has Jesus explicitly ask Judas (!) to trait Him… to fulfill the plan of God.

Finally, the last temptation itself. It officially occurs two times (but actually recurrs constantly throughout the movie) - and has to do with… love. The love Jesus Christ has not only for every human and every living being in the world, but also for a… woman. The above mentioned Mary Magdalene, the prostitute. Yes, in Martin Scorsese’s film He dreams to build a family with a woman, besides, with a sinner. Which is the reason why throughout this 2,5 h long story there’s no person less sure that He’s the one to do what God wants from Him… than Jesus from Nazareth himself.



Jesus: God loves me. I know he loves me. I want him to stop.



My thoughts about the controversy

The very thought that Jesus might fall in love with a woman is disgusting to many. I can’t see why, first of all because He was a True God and a True human - the latter means He was tempted in all things just like we are and if the Bible doesn’t say he was tempted with this, it doesn’t necessarily mean He actually wasn’t. Rather that’s not what matters most in the Gospel, or what is most relevant. What matters is that He loved everyone so much that He died for everyone… so why in the world he couldn’t love this woman too? Sure He could - the question is of course if He ever wanted to build a family with a woman… have sex… and that we cannot know. I only think this: if every human wants to, why not Him? I say that with all respect I have for Him. “True” human. Do some people really think there was/is anybody real out there who didn’t at least at one certain moment in their life want to… love? The answer “yes” sounds a bit hypocritical to me. So shoot me.


I’ll leave this highly dangerous subject now - if you still keep up, it’s the time for us to talk Judas how this movie shows him. Right, he sells Jesus and gives him away as the Bible has him act, but the problem is that Martin Scorsese makes him unwilling to. The character of Judas has always been the one I’ve been thinking a lot about. Like, what happened to him after death? The Bible has Jesus say “it would be better for such man not to be born”. The question seems to be if Judas was an exception or Jesus had died for him and his sins as well. I guess the answer we again cannot know. What Martin does in his movie is make Judas a simple human, not the worst sinner ever… but simply a sinner, like every other person Jesus died for. A couple of dialogues occur between them, where Judas asks Jesus questions I think… I’d probably ask him too if I met Him. Only in the end I noticed how Martin actually made… me, his viewer, relate to this character. To Judas. To the one who eventually betrayed Him. And as the Bible teaches every man is a terrible sinner in the face of God (and that He died for every single one of us betrayers) again I can hardly see anything wrong about Scorsese’s deviation, except for the fact that this actually was one.



Jesus (talking to Judas): I see God everywhere, He’s in everything… I look at this ant and in his black eyes I see God.



The third problem was the personality of Jesus as Martin shows Him. He doubts His mission, doubts God, wants this cup to pass Him by… reminding me of an old line I once heard: “faith needs a doubt”. The Bible too has it - in Gethzemane - when he prays for the Lord to cancel the whole plan. In this film his doubt stays with him a little while longer - he carries it up to the cross, where the last temptation takes place. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but… okay - otherwise you might not want to see it - it will all end up like the Gospel has it, Jesus Christ will die on the cross for our sins, redeeming the mankind from the paternity of devil. So… well, I can't see no blasphemy.




Who are the actors?

Willem Dafoe is amazing as Jesus Christ. His portrayal is beyond any comparison and to me remains the finest moment of this wonderful actor’s career.

Harvey Keitel (if I’m not mistaken, one of Scorsese’s favorite actors) is very good as Judas. I’ve heard a lot of critique about his Judas act like a nice guy - which is characteristic of Keitel and very true - but I also don’t see how that spoils a single tiny bit of the story.

Barbara Hershey is Mary Magdalene - another wonderful performance.

All the rest are good, but not so memorable. I might only mention a welcome cameo by David Bowie… could his Pilate demonstrate this exceptional artist’s spiritual struggle?… something so evident from his songs.



Finally, Peter Gabriel has written a soundtrack which I should write a separate review on. It is called ‘Passion’ and incorporates a lot of Middle Eastern folk melodies, wonderful rhythms, scary and breathtaking effects, truly adding to this film’s epical status.





In other words, in my epinion there hardly could be a more spiritual film about Jesus from Nazareth, the Christ, the Messiah. A 15-year labor of love, this bold and wonderful cinematic experience is something everyone should see... whether they believe in Christ or not. Some for the sake of the story, others for the sake of the magic we call cinema, fully incarnated in this masterpiece. And, whatever you'll think about it in the end, it won't leave you unmoved, and already as such deserves to be seen for what it is.