Holy Week viewing: 7 films about Jesus

From passions and last temptations to Canadian theater.

Today is Palm Sunday, which means we’re at the start of Holy Week. It’s also the last week of my Lent break from regular writing. When I initially started, I thought I might extend this break into May to give myself time for a relaunch. But, I’m a bit eager to get back into this, and we’re going to jump back in early next week.

In the meantime, it’s Holy Week, and a chance for those of the Christian faith to prepare to observe the death and resurrection of Jesus. I don’t assume that most of my readers are Christian, although I know many are. I hope this might be helpful to the faithful and to the curious.

One thing I’ve always hoped to do is conduct a film discussion group during the Lent season covering films about Jesus. There are…a lot. And maybe one year, I’ll find a way to do that. But for now, I can give you a bit of a syllabus if you are looking for some things to watch this week. I’ve written about many of these films before, so I’ll link to them in the titles. These aren’t faith-based films for the most part, and some are a bit challenging. But all of them have, in some way, informed my own personal meditations about Jesus. Most should be readily available to stream or rent on most platforms.

The Miracle Maker

The only one on this list that I haven’t written about, which I’ll rectify one day. This is a go-to in our family, a near annual watch. This stop-motion animated film stars Ralph Fiennes as the voice of Jesus, as well as the vocal talents of Alfred Molina, Julie Christie, William Hurt and David Thewlis, among others. It’s a beautiful, faithful and imaginative retelling of the story, and the compassion of Fiennes’ Jesus radiates from the screen (yes, Fiennes played Jesus and Voldemort. Deal with it). A great choice for families who want to introduce their kids to the Gospel story.

The Gospel According to St. Matthew

Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1964 retelling of Matthew’s gospel is one of the most faithful – the text is pulled completely from the Scripture. But it’s not stuffy; far from that, it’s one of the most vibrant and alive cinematic versions of the Christ story. There’s a dusty, lived-in feel, and an urgency as Jesus hurries from town to town. I love the depiction of the Sermon on the Mount, edited to convey that it may have been presented multiple times. Pasolini was maybe the person least likely to make a Jesus movie; a gay atheist Marxist, he was compelled to direct the film while stuck in a Rome hotel, waiting to meet the Pope to talk about a blasphemous depiction of Christ in his short film La Ricotta. The film shies away from the supernatural but focuses on Jesus as a revolutionary committed to justice. Its specificity gives it a vitality lacking in more staid versions.

Godspell

I’m going to be honest: I’m including this because I wrote about it and because its depiction of the Gospel story is interesting. But this 1973 adaptation of the popular musical also annoys me in many places. Created during the height of the Jesus Movement, its vibe is bright, poppy and positive; there are also clowns and mimes. But some of the songs are really good (“Day by Day”), the performances are energetic, and there’s something to be said about the joy with which it presents the Gospel story. I think it's less effective as a retelling of the Christ story and works better as a look at how the joy of the Gospel compels us to find fresh new ways to tell it to others.

Jesus Christ Superstar

This is the Jesus musical I prefer. Andrew Lloyd Weber’s beloved rock opera is fascinating not for its fidelity to the text but because of its main thesis: No one who met Jesus walked away without an opinion. Some saw a revolutionary. Others, a threat. Others, a savior. And it makes a statement: Once you’re introduced to Jesus, you will have a reaction. Whether that’s to worship or to crucify is up to you. Plus, the songs are great. My review is for the 1973 Norman Jewison movie (same year as Godspell!), and there are things about it I love – Ted Neeley’s Jesus nails that high note on “Gethsemane” like no one else. But my favorite adaptation is the one starring John Legend done live on NBC in 2018, which moves with such ferocity and power that it’s one of my favorite bits of live TV in the last decade (but it’s hard to track down).

Jesus of Montreal

Denys Arcand’s 1989 drama isn’t really an adaptation of the gospels, except where it is. The Canadian film stars Lothaire Bluteau as Daniel, an actor hired to reimagine a stodgy Passion pageant in Montreal. Daniel assembles a theater troupe of unlikely people and his approach to the story – which he bases on recent historical research – causes controversy with the Catholic church. There’s a lot going on in this one, which is funny, thoughtful and a bit angry all at once. It’s a political commentary on the (then) current condition of Montreal. It’s a film about the community of actors and the challenges of adaptation. But it’s also an allegory, with Daniel as the film’s Christ figure and his troupe aligning loosely with the disciples and other figures. There’s a cleansing of the temple of sorts, as well as the film’s own approach to death, resurrection, and the life-giving power of sacrifice. If you’re looking for something that tells the gospel straight, this probably isn’t it. But if you’re willing to take on something a bit more theologically imaginative, this is one of my favorites.

The Passion of the Christ

You can’t have a complete discussion about adaptations of the Gospel without wrestling with Mel Gibson’s 2004 hit. Upon release, it was a sensation and was the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time for over a decade. And it was controversial from the start. Its violence is still more graphic and explicit than most horror movies (I still think any churches that welcomed children to this were wrong). There’s the question of whether it’s anti-Semitic, a charge that has more seriousness when you consider Gibson’s own personal scandals. It’s a film I don’t return to much; I have problems with it, and yet I can’t deny its power. Yes, it lacks context. And yes, the focus on violence tends to overshadow the compassion, power and love of Christ. But it’s also horribly beautiful and has been a helpful Good Friday meditation. It’s ugly and offensive, but so is the cross. Jim Caviezel gives a great performance – often, literally, with only one eye open, and Gibson might be a horrible person, but he’s a talented director. It’s the gospel as horror story, and while I don’t know that I would tag it as essential, I also think it’s not easily ignored.

The Last Temptation of Christ

For reasons laid out in the linked article, I’ve often called Martin Scorsese’s 1988 adaptation of the Nikos Kazantzakis novel the most important movie of my life. It was the movie that taught me movies could be dangerous; for nearly 20 years, I was afraid to go near it. And I still don’t know what to do with it. There are parts that go against what I believe about Jesus. There are moments where I think Scorese finds more truth in who Jesus was and what he accomplished than any other filmmaker. Its final passages – including a moment that many considered blasphemous but that lends so much weight to the film’s final shot – are astonishing. Is it heretical? Maybe. Is it irreverent? Absolutely not. Scorsese is our most Catholic filmmaker, and while he’s dealt with spirituality, guilt and redemption better in other films, you can feel him and screenwriter Paul Schraeder wrestling throughout this with how to get their arms around Jesus. They don’t quite get there – could anyone? And yet I love how this movie provokes, challenges, frustrates and moves me.