THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST
**** (out of ****)
a film review by
Richard A. Zwelling
"The dual substance of Christ-the yearning, so human, so superhuman,
of man to attain God or, more exactly, to return to God and identify
himself with him-has always been a deep inscrutable mystery to me.
This nostalgia for God, at once so mysterious and so real, has opened
in me large wounds and also flowing springs. My principal anguish and
the source of all my joys and sorrows from my youth onward has been
incessant, merciless battle between the spirit and the flesh...and my
soul is the arena where these two armies have clashed and met."
-Nikos Kazantzakis
In established critical circles, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and
GoodFellas are regarded as Scorsese's most accomplished films. The
name of The Last Temptation of Christ, however, has been buried under
controversy. The film is not based on the Gospel's (this is stated in
a prologue); therefore, significant liberties have been taken
concerning details related in the New Testament.
There were those that opposed Last Temptation even going into
production, and once the film was completed, many protested before
even seeing the film. However, for those that opposed the film after
viewing it, the diversions from the ultimate source material were too
great (and, to some, unforgivably blasphemous).
Rather than forming a dry regurgitation of Biblical events,
Kazantzakis and Scorsese extract the notion of Jesus Christ as an idea
and a phenomenon. What could this man's life possibly have been like?
What were his day-to-day struggles?
The above quote precedes the opening credits of the film, which is an
adaptation of Kazantzakis' novel of same title. Although it would be
an enormous injustice to distill the richness and awe-inspiring beauty
of Scorsese's film into one paragraph, this quote eloquently delves to
the core of the film's thematic material.
According to Christian doctrine, Christ was a being of full divinity.
Yet simultaneously, he inhabited the kingdom on Earth, a corporeal
being bound by flesh, bone, skin, and blood. With the chrysalis of
the human body comes its unavoidable temptations; most notable in the
film are those of food, drink, power, and sexual desire. That much is
obvious.
But there is another temptation that is not so readily apparent,
mainly because it is not considered a vice: it is that of living the
earthly life of man. We have families, we love each other, we build
homes, we provide for ourselves, and we firmly root ourselves in the
proverbial kingdom on Earth. This forms the most beautiful and
undeniably good of all human experiences. Yet because they are on
Earth, they are inherently free of the divine.
To us, this does not seem a temptation. But to one who is bound to
the fate of the divine, and must consequently sacrifice his earthly
body, it is a chance to forsake God and give in to the joys of human
life, however beautiful and free of vice they may be.
Here, then, is the dilemma of Kazantzakis' Christ, a man fully human,
and yet fully divine. And the way in which Scorsese addresses this
dilemma is absolutely astounding. The entire film (most notably, the
final 30-45 minutes) is saturated with images, concepts, dialogue, and
music that have generated some of the most emotionally intense and
spiritually rich responses I have ever experienced in a film.
There is a line during Christ's prayer in the garden of Gethsemane
that gives me chills every time I hear it, because it makes the
conflict between the earthly and the heavenly so palpable and
poignant:
"Father in heaven. Father on earth. The world that You've created that
we can see is beautiful, but the world that You've created that we
can't see is beautiful too. I don't know. I'm sorry, Father. I don't
know which is more beautiful."
And lurking in the background, inconspicuous yet undeniably present,
is Peter Gabriel's mesmerizing score, which mixes Eastern modes and
melodies, Western pop sensibilities, and African instrumentations into
a highly original sound that is at once off-center, but also
powerfully moving.
In particular, there is heavy use of sustained drones, often provided
by exotic instruments. The highly percussive elements during some
tracks provide a primitive feel that effectively transports us back in
time. And the haunting melodies provide rich color that heightens the
emotional intensity of several sequences.
The soundtrack is only one of several things that are unusual about
the film's ambience. The cinematography of Michael Ballhaus (a
collaborator on several other Scorsese pictures) creates a visual
palette that provides an almost hallucinatory feel, especially during
the films latter sections.
Especially memorable to me are the sequences in which there is an
unnatural dearth of light, providing a dim aura that might normally be
associated with grimness and melancholy, but in this case provides a
mystical, otherworldly quality.
Scorsese's direction is as emotionally engaging as it is technically
masterful. The composition of several scenes allows for a feeling of
sparseness, accentuating the otherworldly feel. It is especially
during Jesus's sojourn in the desert that we feel that he is
struggling alone against whatever forces exist there.
This is not primarily a historical film, and therefore, there is not a
preoccupation with presenting the culture and look of the times. From
this vantage point, Scorsese plays things perfectly in creating the
scarcity of the desert, and staking most of the camera's attention on
those most immediately involved with Jesus. In addition, his use of
slow-motion, zoom-lens, object-depth within frame, and other technical
facets is carefully chosen to provide maximum effect.
As Jesus Christ, Willem Dafoe is stunning. His performance humanizes
Jesus to a degree that we see him as an immediately identifiable human
character, and not as a mythological figure buried under the removed,
detached auspices of stories and teachings. Whether or not the events
of the film adhere to the Bible, the spiritual and emotional essence
of Jesus is captured tenderly and passionately in Dafoe's work.
Barbara Hershey takes on what is probably the most controversial role
in the film. Her Mary Magdalene is represented as a prostitute, and
there are several scenes in which she expresses sexual desires for
Jesus. However, these desires are not merely passing, lustful
thoughts, but suggestions of a deep-rooted love.
Magdalene's presentation as a sexual being creates undeniable tension
between the two, and this is certainly enough to drive many viewers
away, but it is important to consider the purpose behind the method.
For Jesus, sex is much more than just a temptation to be thwarted in
order to attain the divine. It is an act that can turn love between
two people into the most beautiful of experiences. It is the act
between man and wife that creates families and preserves the ties of
marriage. It has the potential to be spiritually rewarding on a
personal level.
So, for Jesus, Magdalene represents a much more complex challenge. He
deeply cares for her and knows well that she would marry him and have
a family if he expressed desires to do so. Yet because that would be
the life of man, the life of the kingdom on Earth, betrothal to
Magdalene would mean forsaking God. It is one thing merely to reject
pure sexual pleasure as a temptation. It is quite another to reject
the chance to build a deeply fulfilling relationship with one that you
have strong feelings for.
As Judas Iscariot, Harvey Keitel displays his characteristic volatile
nature, and yet this is a very different Judas than we are used to
reading about. In Last Temptation, Judas's betrayal of Jesus is
presented not as an act of weakness and spite, but of love and
devotion. Indeed, it is Jesus who informs Judas that he must go
through with the betrayal if Jesus is to be crucified (the only way in
which Jesus will bring salvation to humanity).
In a moment so typical of the film's strong emotional core, Judas asks
Jesus, "If you were me, could you betray your master?" Jesus's
response is simply, "No, I couldn't. That's why God gave me the
easier job."
It is moments like this that make the film a transcendent experience.
In each of us, there is a deeply cynical, world-worn part that scoffs
characters like Last Temptation's Jesus-- beings who preach love and
speak evangelically about justice, peace, and understanding. We know
the world to be quite different in actuality, and we may view the
preaching and speaking as empty rhetoric and blind hopefulness.
But in Dafoe's Jesus, we find an unusually passionate devotion, an
unconditional love of humanity, and most importantly, a sense of
genuineness and urgency. His vision is one of a world for which any
of us would yearn. And this is where the film begins to tackle
secular issues and well as religious ones.
In a surprisingly effective supporting performance, David Bowie (yes,
THAT David Bowie) appears as Pontius Pilate and has a dialogue with
Jesus that embodies political and social philosophies, in addition to
the inevitable ones relating to religion. Jesus's envisioned world
may be an ideal one, but is humanity ready for it? Do they want it?
If they do not, is it Jesus's obligation to encroach upon their
lifestyles and thoughts? Pilate's arguments provide an analytical
angle, a down-to-earth perspective on Jesus's actions and thoughts.
But this is not to say that anything is discredited.
Another captivating scene involves a debate that is part social and
part theological. One character argues that Jesus is wasting time,
because there are people who are sick, hungry, poor, and suffering.
His eventual statement in relation to this is that one must first
provide sustenance for the body (food, shelter, clothing), then one
talks of the spirit. The body, he says, is the foundation.
Jesus retorts by saying that it is the spirit, not the body, that is
the foundation. He argues that if you don't change the inherent
corruption that allows for the widespread suffering, then providing
for the body is only temporarily remedial. You must "break the chain
of evil" as he states.
The entire film is overflowing with philosophical, religious, and
social issues such as these, and they all revolve around one man's
struggle to attain the divine. It is important to notice that this is
not local to Christianity. The attainment of the "divine" is parallel
to the political concept of "utopia", the Buddhist concept of
"enlightenment", the philosophical concept of "ultimate knowledge"
(explored so heavily by Greek civilization, for example).
From any angle, the struggles of Jesus stretch beyond the confines of
one ideology and embody any attempt to improve humanity and struggle
for something greater. It is for this reason that The Last Temptation
of Christ is a film inexhaustible in its potential for artistic,
religious, and secular analysis. And above all, it is a film of
beautifully raw emotional power. It is no wonder that I consider this
film one of the finest ever made.
========== X-RAMR-ID: 37691 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 1277531 X-RT-TitleID: 1011984 X-RT-AuthorID: 7583 X-RT-RatingText: 4/4
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