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Jesus of Montreal
Denys Arcand, Canada, 1989; 118 mins.
In Jesus of Montreal, a motley
theatrical troupe hired to "freshen up" a local shrine's annual Passion Play
discover what many have: that an honest confrontation with the Gospel results
in the material overflowing the "script" into life. Indeed, the actors'
lives and art are overlapped loosely here to form a sort of dreamscape in
which the whole Gospel is expressed. The troupe's leader, Daniel (Lothaire
Bluteau) plays Jesus, of course, gathering his fellow players like disciples
and firing them with a vision that leads to familiar stations of the Cross.
Their little band of outsiders recalls many a counter-cultural Gospel,
reminding us of why radicals are inevitably drawn to the Jesus story - even a
lapsed-Catholic like Denys Arcand. The director is clearly working out
personal issues, casting Priests who run the shrine in the role of religious
Pharisees who find an authentic Gospel inevitably threatens their entrenched
Status Quo. In his own "freshening up" of the Gospel, Arcand also has much
to say about the Imperial rule of the Culture Industry, as Daniel/Jesus faces
temptation in the form of a high-powered media lawyer and later becomes
provoked into a heartfelt and surprisingly relevant "clearing of the temple."
See longer review in Flickerings' "Epic Survey of Jesus Films"
Jesus of Montreal
is part of "The Gospel According to Tax Collectors &
Sinners" track of the Featured Screenings program at Flickerings at Cornerstone Festival,
July 1-4, 2004.See complete Schedule
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