Review of Hail Mary (1985) by Jesse L — 24 Jun 2004

(VHS) (First Viewing, 16th Godard film).

What particularly interested me going into [b]Hail Mary[/b] was to see how Jean-Luc Godard would handle intensely religious subject matter. Protested by many and condemned by the Pope on its initial release, [b]Hail Mary[/b] develops an updated version of the Virgin Birth that has proved to be one of the most controversial films in Godard's career.

Marie (Myriem Roussel) is a seemingly normal teenage girl- she plays on the school basketball team and has a serious boyfriend, a taxi driver named Joseph (Thierry Rode). One night, while working her family's gas station, she receives a visit from an angel (who arrives by jet plane and rides in Joseph's taxi) who informs her she's going to bear the Son of God. When she does end up pregnant nobody believes that she could possibly be a virgin (suspecting it Joseph's child), until her doctor confirms it.

What was initially perceived as being sacrilegious is in fact an occasionally poignant attempt to humanize Mary, who struggles with her massive burden, the social stigma it creates, and the problem it presents in her relationship with Joseph. Initially crushed, Joseph eventually accepts the reality of the situation and resigns himself to marrying a woman who he will never be able to know in an intimate way. During the scene where Joseph tells Marie that he will follow through in his plans to marry her, he asks her if he could see her body just once. He won't touch, but just wants one look. It's heartbreaking, and it sheds a light on one angle of the Biblical story that is never given much thought to: the sacrifices Joseph had to endure in being the earthly father of Christ.

At the same time, I was rather surprised to find that Godard holds to the traditional Roman Catholic view of Mary's perpetual virginity. This was particularly surprising since some recent reading on the subject revealed that Godard was raised a Protestant (apparently the Godards was/are one of the most prominent Protestant families in France), which holds a very different view on the subject (Mary supposedly had several children after Jesus). For that reason I'm curious to know why Godard sticks predominantly to the Catholic tradition in regards to Mary's story.

As my friend Derek has commented before, [b]Hail Mary[/b] is a strikingly warm film, especially when compared with the rest of Godard's post-60's output. It's not quite as fragmented as many of his later films, and easier to follow (though the brief inclusion of an unrelated student/professor affair is baffling). One of the major reasons for the initial outrage was [b]Hail Mary[/b]'s use of nudity- but it is distinctly non-erotic in nature, and is more reminiscent of Renaissance art than of pornography, which it was dismissed as being.

In his review, which was written in the form of a letter to a major Chicago Bishop, Roger Ebert says that it was those who protested (the religious) would probably find the film most interesting. It's a valid and correct statement, as the film is an interesting take on one of humanity's most famous stories. [b]Hail Mary[/b] might not be a particularly good film, and certainly nowhere near one of Godard's best, but its subject matter makes it, in my opinion, a particularly fascinating film.