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Director: Martin Scorsese
Writer: Nikos Kazantzakis, Paul Schrader
Cast: Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey
"If I could touch every stone, if I could breathe on every branch, they'd get up and follow me. So what's wrong with you?"
"Today and tomorrow I cast out demons and work cures. On the third day, I will be perfected."
"You think God belongs only to you? He doesn't. God is an immortal spirit who belongs to everybody, to the whole world. You think you're special? God is not an Israelite."
The Last Temptation Of Christ came out when I was twelve years old. This was well before the internet when information and multiple opinions were available at your fingertips. The Pope and any Christian leaders that I can remember all came out in opposition to this film. I would say I was a movie fan at this point but I was still enamored with the films of my youth. Back To The Future, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones were the movies that were filling up my Saturday afternoons. A love for directors had certainly not developed yet so someone like Scorsese, who would become one of my favorites, was certainly not on my radar. Watching this movie never occurred to me. As far as I was concerned it was just another example of the world persecuting us. I put the film from my mind and never considered it for years and years. By the time I was entering adulthood and my film tastes were changing drastically this film was far from my mind. Nobody was talking about it anymore. If someone had asked me I am sure that I would have called the movie a novelty, something that created a lot of controversy years ago but that nobody cared about one way or the other anymore. About a year ago one of my favorite film critics talked about The Last Temptation Of Christ on his podcast. He is a Christian and it is one of his ten favorite movies of all time. I was intrigued. I thought that there must be something that I missed out on. There had to be more to this movie than just the controversy of Christ being tempted by a women. There is more to this movie. Not only that but I think that it could be a film whose message Christians embrace if they would give it the opportunity which is something I am willing to bet few have.
I was not impressed with the movie throughout. We get a scene between Jesus and Mary Magdalene early on but it is mostly uneventful. Jesus is about to go into his ministry and Mary wants him to stay. She tells Jesus he does not need to walk down this path, that he can have a normal life with her. He resists and my first chance at outrage as a Christian is averted. Things go down the normal Jesus biopic road for quite a bit after this. We see the temptation in the desert, the wedding where Jesus performs his first miracle, and his raising of Lazarus from the dead. There are a couple of scenes where I could see where there might be some controversy. On a couple of occasions Jesus says some things that I could see some considering Un-Christ like. He talks of being afraid, of being jealous. Feelings that most Christians probably don't think that Christ would entertain. Did he though? Most of these conversations revolved around Jesus wishing that he could lead a normal life. That the burden that he was called upon to carry was too much for him. He wanted to leave it all behind for a normal existence. Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Jesus says these words soon before his crucifixion. I think it is very reasonable to assume that this would have been on his mind most of his life. I also think it is very reasonable to assume then that fear and jealousy are emotions that he had to deal with for most of his life. It is not something that most Christians like to think about. Jesus was God in the flesh and led a perfect life. So what does a perfect life look like? I think this film does a good job of showing us that vulnerability can still exist in a perfect life. This should not be something that Christians turn away form but rather something we embrace.
As we enter the last third of the film we also enter Christ's crucifixion. Soon after we enter the part of the film that if I had to guess caused the most outrage. We see the crucifixion play out as those of us that know the story have watched it play out many, many times. Pontius Pilate, the enraged crowds, the horrific whippings. They are all here and lead to Christ on the cross. A young girl appears before Christ on the cross. Immediately I know we are going somewhere I have never gone before. She tells Christ she is from God and that his burden has been lifted, he is free to remove himself from the Cross. Jesus is bewildered and so am I, this is it, this is where my journey ends and I become outraged but I have already made up my mind that I am in this for the duration. As Christ begins to walk with this girl he asks questions. You are going to your wedding day she tells him, it is time for you to have the life that you wanted, God has taken your burden of all of humanity's sin away. We see Jesus's marriage to Mary. He has children and things seem to be the way he has always longed for. My favorite scene comes as Jesus is walking along a road with his family one day. We hear a man preaching to a crowd and Jesus takes notice. He sends his family home and goes in closer to hear what the man is saying. Christians will immediately realize that this man is Paul and he is preaching about the crucifixion as if it transpired the way it should have. He is speaking of the resurrection, and of forgiveness through Christ. Jesus is bewildered and a bit enraged. He confronts Paul, played wonderfully by Harry Dean Stanton, about the the false things he is teaching the crowd. He tells Paul that he is Jesus so the things he is saying are lies and that he should stop. Paul tells him that the crucifixion was a necessary thing for humanity. That without it we would be lost, there would be no unconditional love and forgiveness. Paul tells Jesus that he was always going to preach Christ crucified no matter what happened. I love this scene because it is a perfect picture of what the foundation of Christianity is. It is well written and well acted. I am still hesitant however, because while it is a picture of Christianity it doesn't exist without the crucifixion.
We know that Jesus understands this as well because he immediately is in torment. We see him old and on his death bed. No comfort will come to him as a result of not fulfilling what he was sent here to do. As he is about to die we are sent back to Jesus on the cross. Everything that has transpired is a dream, he is fulfilling his promise to God and to us. Instead of of being hesitant about where this story is going I become bewildered at how anyone can think this movie is sacrilegious. The Last Temptation Of Christ is of course a movie. People are going to bring a lot of different things into their viewing of any film. Just because I see this as a really good picture of the things that Jesus must of went through does not mean others will. A non believer probably would see a completely different message or more likely would probably be bored by the film. I don't see how anyone can think that this film wants to diminish Christ's life in any way though. The end is a clear picture of the world's need for a savior, and that savior was Jesus. Although it is not a perfect film I am glad that I got around to seeing Scorsese's "controversial" film The Last Temptation Of Christ.
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writer: Nikos Kazantzakis, Paul Schrader
Cast: Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey
"If I could touch every stone, if I could breathe on every branch, they'd get up and follow me. So what's wrong with you?"
"Today and tomorrow I cast out demons and work cures. On the third day, I will be perfected."
"You think God belongs only to you? He doesn't. God is an immortal spirit who belongs to everybody, to the whole world. You think you're special? God is not an Israelite."
The Last Temptation Of Christ came out when I was twelve years old. This was well before the internet when information and multiple opinions were available at your fingertips. The Pope and any Christian leaders that I can remember all came out in opposition to this film. I would say I was a movie fan at this point but I was still enamored with the films of my youth. Back To The Future, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones were the movies that were filling up my Saturday afternoons. A love for directors had certainly not developed yet so someone like Scorsese, who would become one of my favorites, was certainly not on my radar. Watching this movie never occurred to me. As far as I was concerned it was just another example of the world persecuting us. I put the film from my mind and never considered it for years and years. By the time I was entering adulthood and my film tastes were changing drastically this film was far from my mind. Nobody was talking about it anymore. If someone had asked me I am sure that I would have called the movie a novelty, something that created a lot of controversy years ago but that nobody cared about one way or the other anymore. About a year ago one of my favorite film critics talked about The Last Temptation Of Christ on his podcast. He is a Christian and it is one of his ten favorite movies of all time. I was intrigued. I thought that there must be something that I missed out on. There had to be more to this movie than just the controversy of Christ being tempted by a women. There is more to this movie. Not only that but I think that it could be a film whose message Christians embrace if they would give it the opportunity which is something I am willing to bet few have.
I was not impressed with the movie throughout. We get a scene between Jesus and Mary Magdalene early on but it is mostly uneventful. Jesus is about to go into his ministry and Mary wants him to stay. She tells Jesus he does not need to walk down this path, that he can have a normal life with her. He resists and my first chance at outrage as a Christian is averted. Things go down the normal Jesus biopic road for quite a bit after this. We see the temptation in the desert, the wedding where Jesus performs his first miracle, and his raising of Lazarus from the dead. There are a couple of scenes where I could see where there might be some controversy. On a couple of occasions Jesus says some things that I could see some considering Un-Christ like. He talks of being afraid, of being jealous. Feelings that most Christians probably don't think that Christ would entertain. Did he though? Most of these conversations revolved around Jesus wishing that he could lead a normal life. That the burden that he was called upon to carry was too much for him. He wanted to leave it all behind for a normal existence. Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Jesus says these words soon before his crucifixion. I think it is very reasonable to assume that this would have been on his mind most of his life. I also think it is very reasonable to assume then that fear and jealousy are emotions that he had to deal with for most of his life. It is not something that most Christians like to think about. Jesus was God in the flesh and led a perfect life. So what does a perfect life look like? I think this film does a good job of showing us that vulnerability can still exist in a perfect life. This should not be something that Christians turn away form but rather something we embrace.
As we enter the last third of the film we also enter Christ's crucifixion. Soon after we enter the part of the film that if I had to guess caused the most outrage. We see the crucifixion play out as those of us that know the story have watched it play out many, many times. Pontius Pilate, the enraged crowds, the horrific whippings. They are all here and lead to Christ on the cross. A young girl appears before Christ on the cross. Immediately I know we are going somewhere I have never gone before. She tells Christ she is from God and that his burden has been lifted, he is free to remove himself from the Cross. Jesus is bewildered and so am I, this is it, this is where my journey ends and I become outraged but I have already made up my mind that I am in this for the duration. As Christ begins to walk with this girl he asks questions. You are going to your wedding day she tells him, it is time for you to have the life that you wanted, God has taken your burden of all of humanity's sin away. We see Jesus's marriage to Mary. He has children and things seem to be the way he has always longed for. My favorite scene comes as Jesus is walking along a road with his family one day. We hear a man preaching to a crowd and Jesus takes notice. He sends his family home and goes in closer to hear what the man is saying. Christians will immediately realize that this man is Paul and he is preaching about the crucifixion as if it transpired the way it should have. He is speaking of the resurrection, and of forgiveness through Christ. Jesus is bewildered and a bit enraged. He confronts Paul, played wonderfully by Harry Dean Stanton, about the the false things he is teaching the crowd. He tells Paul that he is Jesus so the things he is saying are lies and that he should stop. Paul tells him that the crucifixion was a necessary thing for humanity. That without it we would be lost, there would be no unconditional love and forgiveness. Paul tells Jesus that he was always going to preach Christ crucified no matter what happened. I love this scene because it is a perfect picture of what the foundation of Christianity is. It is well written and well acted. I am still hesitant however, because while it is a picture of Christianity it doesn't exist without the crucifixion.
We know that Jesus understands this as well because he immediately is in torment. We see him old and on his death bed. No comfort will come to him as a result of not fulfilling what he was sent here to do. As he is about to die we are sent back to Jesus on the cross. Everything that has transpired is a dream, he is fulfilling his promise to God and to us. Instead of of being hesitant about where this story is going I become bewildered at how anyone can think this movie is sacrilegious. The Last Temptation Of Christ is of course a movie. People are going to bring a lot of different things into their viewing of any film. Just because I see this as a really good picture of the things that Jesus must of went through does not mean others will. A non believer probably would see a completely different message or more likely would probably be bored by the film. I don't see how anyone can think that this film wants to diminish Christ's life in any way though. The end is a clear picture of the world's need for a savior, and that savior was Jesus. Although it is not a perfect film I am glad that I got around to seeing Scorsese's "controversial" film The Last Temptation Of Christ.