Review of Jesus of Montreal (1989) by Dfw F — 18 Feb 2010

Denys Arcand is a movie from a director with intelligence & refined sensibilities. His best-known work is The Decline of American Civilization. He also made The Barbarian Invasions a film which I enjoyed very much It won best foreign film Oscar 2004.

Plot A group of actors putting on an interpretive Passion Play in Montreal begin to experience a meshing of their characters & their private lives as the production takes form against the growing opposition of the Catholic church.

(Lothaire Bluteau), the actor who plays Christ, discovers that his own life is taking on some of the aspects of Christ's. By the end of the film we have arrived at a crucifixion scene that actually plays as drama & not simply as something that has been forced into the script.

It suggests that most establishments, & especially the church, would be rocked to their foundations by the practical application of the maxims of Christ. The film gives us simple, powerful messages of artistic freedom, personal redemption, and perseverance during a personal quest & how heartbreaking the world, & reality, can be.

The film manages to make deft, original swipes at a plethora of modern â??evilsâ?? media hype, advertising, hospital bureaucracy, & of course the hypocrisy of the religious establishment. Cinematically the film is visually elegant & an uncluttered sort of movie.

In a sense the film is a movie about the theater, not about religion. But in the end their challenging production becomes the toast of the city, the Roman Catholic Church strongly objects to its Biblical interpretation & forcefully stops the performances.

The film is clever, funny and tragic. Its apparent complexity is a conjuring trick. "Life is hard to bear," Daniel announces, finally. Truth, as Jesus discovered, kills. Only jokers and journeymen survive.

And believers. At least this film does not become overly heavy-handed onscreen. This film was nominated for the 1989 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film but did not win. 4 stars.