Jesus of Montreal

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Movie
German title Jesus of Montreal
Original title Jésus de Montréal
Country of production Canada ( Québec ), France
original language French
Publishing year 1989
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Denys Arcand
script Denys Arcand
production Roger Frappier
Pierre Gendron
Monique Létourneau
music Jean-Marie Benoît
François Dompierre
Yves Laferrière
camera Guy Dufaux
cut Isabelle Dedieu
occupation

Jesus of Montreal ( Jésus de Montréal ) is an Oscar- nominated drama from 1989 , created by Denys Arcand , who is responsible for the direction and script. The Canadian-French film deals with the acting representation of the Passion of Christ , in which the main character is more and more absorbed. The St. Joseph's Oratory in the Canadian city of Montréal serves as the backdrop . Lothaire Bluteau plays the leading role .

action

In the beginning, an actor shows his art on the stage by depicting his death by hanging in a dramatic scene. A commercially minded viewer wants his head for an advertising poster. At your request, he welcomes the young charismatic actor Daniel Coulombe and points out him.

Daniel was commissioned by Father Raymond Leclerc to stage a modern passion play about Jesus' ordeal, since the script that has been used for 35 years is out of date and no longer resonates with the audience. Daniel is looking for a group of actors with whom he will work on the text. Among them is a friend he knew from the conservatory, Constance Lazure, who had already played in the performance earlier. In return for his job offer, she offers him an overnight stay in her apartment. What Daniel does not know: Constance is the mother of a daughter and the secret lover of the father. Daniel is looking for two more men and a girl for the play. Martin works as a voice actor for a porn film in which he is supposed to speak two roles at the same time. Daniel hires him. René impressively demonstrates the creation and end of the universe on a canvas. He takes on the role offered by Daniel on one condition: He wants to be able to recite the monologue from Hamlet . He also recommends Daniel the pretty Mireille Fontaine, who is scantily clad advertising a perfume. She leaves her lover, who only appreciates her physical virtues, and moves in with Constance. The group is complete. Daniel is looking for information about Jesus that will inspire him because he wants to play his role as convincingly as possible. After rehearsals together, the first performance follows in various stations.

The actual name of Jesus is given as Yeshu Ben Panthera , i.e. the son of Panthera , who was stationed in Capernaum as a Roman soldier in 6 AD . The two actresses inform the bystanders about the conditions at that time. Sorcerers work miracles; Jesus, played by Daniel, heals the blind and brings the dead back to life. A spectator briefly interrupts the performance and kneels in front of the Jesus actor. He distributes bread to those around and preaches peace. Then Jesus is arrested. René in the role of Pontius Pilate sentenced him to death on the crucifixion , whereupon he was scourged and nailed to the cross - a type of execution popular at the time because of its deterrent effect. In the last station, Jesus' death is depicted.

He had been dead for a few years when he appeared to Mary Magdalene , played by Mireille, and then to other disciples . His message is to love one another. This ends the piece, followed by enthusiastic applause from the audience, even if the audience's reactions are different, more or less affected, but nonetheless consistently positive. The actors are happy about their success; the media recommend watching the Passion Play. The only one horrified is the father, who dislikes the portrayal of Jesus as the illegitimate son of a Roman soldier, which is why he feels compelled to inform his superiors.

Mireille asks Daniel to come with her to audition for a beer ad. Her ex-boyfriend Jerzy is the director. She doesn't want to see him alone. When they arrive on the set, Jerzy unkindly accuses her of forgetting to put on her bikini and demands that she take off her sweater in front of clients and step topless in order to get a chance at the role. Daniel gets angry and tries to save the girl from being topless. He destroys technical equipment and thus drives people to flight. Mireille kisses him on the cheek for it.

Again the Passion is performed. When the Jesus represented by Daniel hangs lifeless on the cross, he is arrested by the police. Marcel Brochu ( Roy Dupuis ) reads him his rights. The performance ends without Daniel. He is given a mild verdict in an express trial. A lawyer makes suggestions for a possible career. Because of his superiors, Father Leclerc wants to return to the decades-old text, which is why he argues with Constance about it. He is not ready to give up his job for her, without which he is nothing.

The actors begin to perform their play one last time against the will of the Father. However, it is stopped by the police due to safety concerns just as Jesus is hanging lifeless on the cross. The actors fight back when they are caught by the police. People from the audience interfere as well. The heavy wooden cross falls over and buries Daniel under itself. After far too much time has passed, the ambulance service takes him unconscious. The two women accompany him. René's premonition that staging tragedies would bring bad luck has come true. In the overcrowded waiting room of the hospital, nobody is interested in Daniel's medical care. He wakes up again but has a headache. The three leave the hospital. Daniel hallucinates and speaks as if he were on stage as if he were Jesus. He throws up and collapses on a subway platform. This time the rescue takes him to a Jewish hospital, where he is cared for. The doctor informs the two women that they are half an hour late and that there is no more rescue for him. Only his body is still alive and is connected to a life support system. Daniel's organs are removed and reimplanted with Constance's consent . The recipient of the heart has a new life ahead of him. A woman can see again through the operation.

The four friends say goodbye to Daniel at the coffin. In memory of him, the lawyer proposes the creation of an avant-garde theater group.

At the end, two girls sing "Quando corpus morietur" from Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's Stabat Mater in a subway underpass. Behind them hangs an advertising poster showing the actor's head in the opening scene.

Parallels to the life of Jesus

  • The actor at the beginning embodies John the Baptist , because just as the daughter of Herod Antipas asked for the head of John, a woman asks for his head for an advertising poster, and when he receives compliments, he refers to Daniel as John does to Jesus in the Bible .
  • Daniel picks up his actors like Jesus calls his disciples ; both come from poor backgrounds.
  • Mireille, who markets her body as a model , corresponds to a combination of one of the nameless prostitutes in John's Gospel and Maria Magdalena , who she also embodies in the Passion Play.
  • In the commercial, the actress walks across the water - like Jesus on the Sea of ​​Galilee .
  • The clergyman Leclerc embodies the Pharisees who, although outwardly pious, were convicted of their sins by Jesus.
  • Daniel defends himself against the profiteering and exploitation by the filmmakers and destroys the studio facilities - like Jesus cleaning the temple .
  • Lawyer R. Cardinal makes Daniel various offers over the rooftops of Montreal to market his personality, which corresponds to the temptation of Jesus .
  • Before the last performance of the Passion Play, the drama group sits together and has a picnic, which has parallels to the Last Supper.
  • When Daniel comes out of the hospital with Mireille and Constànce, because he feels better despite being refused admission, he announces the impending apocalypse in the subway , just like Jesus did shortly before his death.
  • Only the Jewish hospital wants to take in the fatally injured Daniel, which can be understood as an allusion to the fact that Jesus is also appropriated by the other monotheistic world religions (in Islam as a prophet and in Christianity as the Messiah ), but he himself belonged to the Jewish religion . At the same time it is a parallel to the parable of the good Samaritan.
  • Daniel dies just like Jesus at the age of 30.
  • The transplantation of Daniel's organs (heart and eyes) can be seen as a parallel to the miracles of Jesus (healing of the blind, etc.); in addition, part of Daniel lives on in some way, indicating the resurrection of Jesus Christ .
  • The theater group would like to continue working in Daniel's sense, but not commercially; however, they are told that these two points are not mutually exclusive. The work of Jesus also brought about an institution with the church that is both charitable and commercial .
  • When Jesus dies on the cross, women stand by him; with Daniel they do this while he is dying in the hospital. Daniel himself spread his arms cross-shaped on the operating table.

Reviews

  • According to www.katholische-filmarbeit.de on January 20, 1990, the film is a demanding examination of Jesus of high artistic stature and clearly the most entertaining of all 'Jesus' films to date. He is witty, provocative and a biting satire with a fine sense of humor .
  • Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat said at www.spiritualityandpractice.com that the film was " inventive, witty, and illuminating religious work of art ".
  • Prisma wrote: The award-winning Canadian drama (Jury Prize in Cannes 1989) cleverly plays with the contradiction of pseudo and deeply religious views and positions. Aesthetically appealing and implemented with pointed social and church criticism.
  • The lexicon of international films sums up: The film, built up from a complex network of different motifs and themes, develops a pointed criticism of society and the church from a subjective but artistically reflected approach to the Gospels. An aesthetically convincing and intellectually polished examination of the message of Jesus, humorous, lively and witty.

Awards (selection)

Background information

The film was shot in Montreal . Denys Arcand appears in a small role as a judge. The film is ranked 35th among the most financially successful Québec films (as of September 24, 2006). The box office was about 1.98 million CAD in Canada and 1.6 million US dollars in the US.

The film was first presented to the public in France on May 17, 1989. It started in German cinemas in January 1990 and has been shown in over 40 countries.

The English title is Jesus of Montreal . In the US, DVDs are available in English and French, with either English or Spanish subtitles. The extras include a trailer of the film and five English biographies of the actors. In Great Britain there is a special edition , while German-language VHS cassettes with a length of approx. 119 minutes have been released. In addition, a DVDplus with working materials has been published by Matthias Film .

The St. Josephs Oratory in Montreal was used as the main set for this film.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times (English)
  2. ^ Criticism at www.katholische-filmarbeit.de
  3. ↑ Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, www.spiritualityandpractice.com (English)
  4. ↑ prisma.de: Jesus of Montreal
  5. ↑ Jesus of Montreal. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed May 25, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used