Review of The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) by Ivan D — 27 Jul 2010

A sensitive theme no one could have dared to touch, what more to turn into a film? Based on Nikos Kazantzakis' book of the same name, Martin Scorsese pulled off the almost impossible, creating a film so rich on emotions and visual beauty that it eventually transcended its controversial subject, although of course, not released worldwide unscathed.

The film's majority was about Jesus Christ and his messianic exploits that are nothing but common staple on Catholicism and told countless times everywhere by almost all media. But as it came down to its final hour or so, it turned from being a provocative hate-inspiring picture into a deeply humanist film, one that turns even the most powerful figure of Christianity not into an ultimate savior of sorts, but instead a center of an engrossing drama that is as contemplative as it was beautifully acted.

Willem Dafoe delivered the best performance of his career(or perhaps one of the best ever), not being bothered that he did not look like Christ(based on existing illustrations) at all. He embodied the role, owning it both heart and soul even just for 3 hours.

Harvey Keitel showed Judas in a different light, but not completely deconstructing the mythos behind the figure that is known today as the epitome of a traitor. I have much to say about the greatness of this film, but only one sentence was formulated in my mind once the film ended: "This is why I watch and love films".

Although this film does not usually recall to one's mind when asked "What defines Scorsese's career?", it's indeed, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the milestones of his career.