I watched this movie last night (sorry i watched it w/o you Lance, but really, you would have hated it). It’s been on my movie list for 12+ years, but it’s just not a movie i could ever get excited about. This is a Martin Scorsese film, even, but i never wanted to watch it. It was in my Netflix queue, and i guess we’re getting near the bottom of the barrel.
It’s basically the story of Jesus’ ministry, starting with his early internal conflicts about it and the decision to Go Forth and all that. It focuses on Jesus as a man, instead of Jesus as the Savior. We see the people following him, and the collecting of his disciples. We see some miracles and the cleansing of the temple. We see Jesus face temptations and overcome them. Until there is a final temptation as he is hanging on the cross. A “guardian angel” appears to him and gives him the opportunity NOT to die, but instead to go on living as a normal man, and raise a family. He succombs to this temptation, until the end of his life, when he realizes he should have died as God wanted him to. He prays, and God lets him go back and die on the cross as planned.
I did not particularly enjoy this movie. There are a few notable goods and bads:
Goods:
- Jesus really is portrayed as a conflicted individual. He is a man struggling with what he thinks God wants for him. He is anxious. He has fear. He is uncertain. I like that Jesus is not a good and perfect person.
- When Lazarus was raised from the dead, it was a very spooky “undead” moment. Lazarus looks to have partially decayed. It certainly put me in mind of vampires and other undead beings, whom Christians generally think of as evil. It also made me think of Aladdin and how the Genie can grant any wish, except 1) falling in love and 2) raising the dead. Raising the dead is something that generally has very negative associations and is something you’re not supposed to do. Why is it a “miracle” when Jesus did it instead of an abomination? Should he have done it in the first place? I just thought this film did a good job of subtley raising these questions, at least for me.
- Judas is portrayed as a loyal and loving friend. I loved this, because i have long been a believer that Judas has gotten a bad rap. I do not think Judas betrayed Jesus in the normal sense of the word. Sure, i think Judas was the one that told the Romans where to find him, so yes he technically “betrayed” him. But i think Jesus told him to do it, and Judas didn’t want to, but did it out of love. Jesus KNEW he had to die. He knew he had to be a martyr in order for his message to endure. His friends did not want that. But Jesus entrusted the job to Judas, his best friend, because Judas knew what was at stake. At least, that’s been my take on it, and i was happy to see it played out on screen.
- In the alternate life, when Jesus is a family man, he hears Paul preaching in the town square. Paul is telling of Jesus being crucified and then resurrected 3 days later. Jesus confronts him and says “I am Jesus, but i never died or rose again. You are lying.” Paul tells him it doesn’t matter what the actual truth is, he tells the truth as he wants it to be. And his made-up stories get people to believe in God. So he’s going to say whatever is necessary to get people converted. Well, well, isn’t THAT an interesting commentary on the church?
Bads:
- Jesus is played by Willem Dafoe, who i know from Spiderman. I couldn’t help but envision the Green Goblin much of the time when Jesus was talking. Especially when he was talking to his disciple Peter. Quite unfortunate.
- Jesus is not particularly likable. Why would anyone follow this tortured soul of a man? I always envisioned Jesus as a great orator and an inspiring person to be around. This Jesus was neither.
- Jesus is not consistent. Sometimes he’s insecure and unsure of himself and what God wants, and sometimes he’s enraged and talking about himself in the first person as God.
- There was an extremely bizarre part when Jesus comes out of the desert after fasting for 40 days and nights. He reaches INTO HIS CHEST and pulls out HIS BEATING HEART. I am not kidding. Just like in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. WTF?
- The title of the movie is The Last Temptation of Christ, so i expected more of the movie to be devoted to that. But most of the movie is just about the life of Jesus. The last temptation piece only takes up about 20 minutes at the end.
- There wasn’t any lightness in the movie, and it was hard to stay focused. Much of it was kind of boring in the beginning and middle parts. It didn’t REALLY catch my interest until the last temptation part started, near the end.
So anyway, i can’t say that i really recommend this movie, but i’m glad it’s finally crossed off my list. And there were a few interesting tidbits in it.