Review:
It is very rare that a film comes along and has the power to change
the way someone thinks. Martin Scorsese's epic masterpiece The Last
Temptation of Christ does just that. What happened if Jesus Christ
was given a choice in whether or not he was crucified and died "for
our sins?" What if Jesus wasn't as perfect as the myths make him out
to be, and was instead a human being, who was almost cursed with the
idea that he was the son of God? The main reason that the fundamentalists
right wingers have come out so strongly against The Last Temptation
of Christs is that the film depicts the dual nature of Christ as
fully devine and fully human. Other than a brief moment at the end of
the film in which Christ ponders what might have been had he lived a
normal life, the film is not anti-Christian in the least. I am not religious,
but I admit the film made me admire Jesus as a loving and philosphical
leader. In fact as one critic put it, "ironically, The Last
Temptation of Christ probably would have drawn more people to Christianity
than years of annoying pamphlets and systematic brainwashing."
Unfortantly, some religious fanatics actually offered to buy the negative
from Universal Studios so that they could burn it. This occurred before
the movie had even opened! William Dafoe's (Platoon,
Born on the Fourth of July) depiction
of Jesus is absolutely incredible. Peter Gabriels musical score is perhaps
my favorite movie score ever. It combines music from the Middle East
with various synthesizers and drum beats to create an awesome sound.
Scorsese's (Raging Bull, Taxi
Driver) direction is very bizarre and creates a film that is
extremely surreal.This is the most intelligent film about Jesus to ever
be created. The top three criteria I used when I sat down to assemble
my top 100 movie list was that the film a)had the power to influence
the way I view life, 2)was original, and 3)was entertaining. The
Last Temptation of Christ met all three criteria and is one of the
greatest films of all-time. -Review by Aaron Caldwell
