The Last Temptation Of Christ
March 26th 2009 02:35
DISCLAIMER: I have no interest in using this review to express my religious beliefs and ask that any comments left please remain objective.
In 1988 Martin Scorsese, the great director of Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Mean Streets and other classics, committed to film, an adaptation which would be inevitably bound for controversy.
The Last Temptation Of Christ is based on the book by Nikos Kazantzakis. It states at the beginning that this is not based upon the gospels but instead the eternal conflict of the human spirit. The film however still has all the same events and people with in the writings of the gospels.
Jesus of Nazareth is a carpenter who is being burdened by either the voice of the Devil or by God. He sets upon to explore the depths of his beliefs. Jesus (played miraculously by Willem Dafoe) starts out as a confused, troubled and timid man and while he goes through some changes of heart, belief and faith, he at his very core remains a man, nothing more, nothing less. What runs through as a constant theme in The Last Temptation Of Christ is probably one of the most pure examinations of a man. His inner conflicts remain thoroughly tangible throughout the film and the balance between the struggle for the soul and the pleasures of the flesh are pulled off admirably.
Through out this man’s journey we become attached to him personally like one of his followers, I can’t speak for the book by Kazantzakis itself, but I can say that Scorsese does a sublime job of creating a tender yet fierce portrait of a conflicted man, conflicted in everyway. Jesus constantly questions his path and his choices as he is woven into a tapestry of alternating beliefs, philosophies and – well – drama. The Last Temptation Of Christ is a great film for the simple reason that you don’t have to be of a particular faith to appreciate it. It gives you a series of open ended questions to ponder over the way things happen in the world, whether you as a viewer are a staunch Christian or whether you choose to use him as a character to serve the stories purpose.
Willem Dafoe seems to have been born to play this role, he has fit into the skin of the man he is portraying wonderfully and gives a soulful performance. Some of the other actors in it include Harvey Kietel, playing Judas, who you could wonder if he perhaps thought he was acting in a Lee Marvin film at the time. While Keitel’s acting seems out of place in the film, Barbara Hershey who plays Mary Magdelene isn’t - in fact her performance is effortless. The scene stealer in this 2 and ½ hour epic however is Harry Dean Stanton (Repo Man, Alien, Paris Texas) and while Stanton doesn’t have a lot of screen time, he gives a virtuosic performance, in fact it’s the best thing you’ll probably find this side of Dennis Hopper’s ‘Apocalypse Now’ monologue, also in the acting mix is David Bowie.
The mentioning of some of these characters in the film bring up some of the film’s controversial qualities, one of the main one’s being how it changes the context of these events regarding the life of Jesus, and how these people fit into the scheme of things. I’m not going to try to encourage anyone who would be offended by that to watch or not watch the film but all these slightly left of centre, contentious changes are never used for shock value or without controlled narrative purpose, in fact the path that this film takes heads to a surprisingly moving, unusual and elating third act.
Scorsese, who is known to be a dynamic and visceral film maker, appears to be restraining him self with everything he has. The camera never moves for the sake of it in this film and he saves any overly fancy camera work and editing for some of the brief and beautiful visual flourishes which happen in the film. The most memorable element of The Last Temptation Of Christ is the musical score by Peter Gabriel, which by the way if you can find for purchase I highly recommend. The score gives a pitch perfect addition to some of the films evocative imagery.
I was surprised by all that The Last Temptation Of Christ had to offer, Scorsese’s belief and passion for the faith and power that religion can bring for people comes through in here so strongly, for all of man’s mistakes and missteps it reminds us of the fundamental need many of us have for guidance and purity and man’s need, in spite of his faults, to attain a goodness to ourselves and others.
The Last Temptation Of Christ will leave you with a lot to think about.
The Last Temptation Of Christ
In 1988 Martin Scorsese, the great director of Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Mean Streets and other classics, committed to film, an adaptation which would be inevitably bound for controversy.
The Last Temptation Of Christ is based on the book by Nikos Kazantzakis. It states at the beginning that this is not based upon the gospels but instead the eternal conflict of the human spirit. The film however still has all the same events and people with in the writings of the gospels.
Jesus of Nazareth is a carpenter who is being burdened by either the voice of the Devil or by God. He sets upon to explore the depths of his beliefs. Jesus (played miraculously by Willem Dafoe) starts out as a confused, troubled and timid man and while he goes through some changes of heart, belief and faith, he at his very core remains a man, nothing more, nothing less. What runs through as a constant theme in The Last Temptation Of Christ is probably one of the most pure examinations of a man. His inner conflicts remain thoroughly tangible throughout the film and the balance between the struggle for the soul and the pleasures of the flesh are pulled off admirably.
director Martin Scorsese and actor Willem Dafoe who plays Jesus
Through out this man’s journey we become attached to him personally like one of his followers, I can’t speak for the book by Kazantzakis itself, but I can say that Scorsese does a sublime job of creating a tender yet fierce portrait of a conflicted man, conflicted in everyway. Jesus constantly questions his path and his choices as he is woven into a tapestry of alternating beliefs, philosophies and – well – drama. The Last Temptation Of Christ is a great film for the simple reason that you don’t have to be of a particular faith to appreciate it. It gives you a series of open ended questions to ponder over the way things happen in the world, whether you as a viewer are a staunch Christian or whether you choose to use him as a character to serve the stories purpose.
Willem Dafoe seems to have been born to play this role, he has fit into the skin of the man he is portraying wonderfully and gives a soulful performance. Some of the other actors in it include Harvey Kietel, playing Judas, who you could wonder if he perhaps thought he was acting in a Lee Marvin film at the time. While Keitel’s acting seems out of place in the film, Barbara Hershey who plays Mary Magdelene isn’t - in fact her performance is effortless. The scene stealer in this 2 and ½ hour epic however is Harry Dean Stanton (Repo Man, Alien, Paris Texas) and while Stanton doesn’t have a lot of screen time, he gives a virtuosic performance, in fact it’s the best thing you’ll probably find this side of Dennis Hopper’s ‘Apocalypse Now’ monologue, also in the acting mix is David Bowie.
David Bowie in a brief scene
The mentioning of some of these characters in the film bring up some of the film’s controversial qualities, one of the main one’s being how it changes the context of these events regarding the life of Jesus, and how these people fit into the scheme of things. I’m not going to try to encourage anyone who would be offended by that to watch or not watch the film but all these slightly left of centre, contentious changes are never used for shock value or without controlled narrative purpose, in fact the path that this film takes heads to a surprisingly moving, unusual and elating third act.
Scorsese, who is known to be a dynamic and visceral film maker, appears to be restraining him self with everything he has. The camera never moves for the sake of it in this film and he saves any overly fancy camera work and editing for some of the brief and beautiful visual flourishes which happen in the film. The most memorable element of The Last Temptation Of Christ is the musical score by Peter Gabriel, which by the way if you can find for purchase I highly recommend. The score gives a pitch perfect addition to some of the films evocative imagery.
All the faults of a man: feeling cocky after turning water into wine
I was surprised by all that The Last Temptation Of Christ had to offer, Scorsese’s belief and passion for the faith and power that religion can bring for people comes through in here so strongly, for all of man’s mistakes and missteps it reminds us of the fundamental need many of us have for guidance and purity and man’s need, in spite of his faults, to attain a goodness to ourselves and others.
The Last Temptation Of Christ will leave you with a lot to think about.
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Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
Comment by Lady Henrietta Muddling
Potter in a Harry
You've made me want to see it. It may be the only Scorsese film I haven't seen.
He's a bit like Lynch to me. People miss the whole point of his films.
Comment by Norm
Consumption Malfunction
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Arses and Elbows
Footy Power
It has to be one of the best I've seen.
Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
Thanks for leaving your comments, could you elaborate on what it is you think people miss about the points of his movies? To me they've been analyzed to death.
Norm, agreed, it's definitely in his top films - its amazing how well Dafoe played the role - astounding actually.
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