L'ultima tentazione di Cristo

This adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis's novel, directed by Martin Scorsese, caused quite a stir on its initial release, accused of blasphemy and of causing offence to the Christian religion.

However, in its depiction of Jesus Christ as a human being rather than a man divine, it gets to the core of his story. This is a man who makes the choice of self-sacrifice for the good of his fellow men, despite the temptations of an alternative life - shown in this film by a life with Mary Magdelene rather than dying at the Crucifixion.

Played by Willem Dafoe with great sensitivity, this Christ performs miracles and discusses the intricacies of life and death with his disciples. Harvey Keitel is Judas, a rough man who fails to understand the significance of being the chosen Son of God; while Barbara Hershey is an effective Magdelene. David Bowie makes a short appearance as Pontius Pilate and is surprisingly good.

'The Last Temptation of Christ' is not one of Scorsese's best films but it certainly sparks questions and leaves food for thought. Some of the imagery is superb and the script is coherent and of a high standard.

Condemned by Fundamentalists upon release, delayed by outcries from hypocrites and liars, and boycotted in any city where it played "The Last Temptation of Christ" is one of the most controversial movies ever made. Instead of showing Christ as a fearless and perfect person, "The Last Temptation" depicts Him as a person who fought his destiny and wished to be just another mortal human being. Religious groups who couldn't (and still can't) accept the fact that Jesus was human were shocked by such ideas and refused to see the film or read the landmark novel on which it was based. They'll never know that they attacked one of the most honest and loving depictions of Christ.

The Christ we see in the film is not based on the teachings of the Gospels, or any scripture for that matter. Instead we get a portrait of Christ the man, not Christ the Savior. We get to see his faults, his fears and anxieties. Then, we get to see him overcome those and find the strength to fulfill his destiny. The Last Temptation of Christ is not afraid to say that Jesus was weak before he became the Savior, and that makes the film all the more satisfying. This is a tale of redemption, courage, and love like no other.

There is no reason to miss this film. Not everyone will like it, but at the very least it will let you see another perspective of the story. And even if you can't accept the story, you won't be able to deny the greatness of Scorsese's direction. From the epic crowd scenes, to the intimate one-on-one conversations, to the stunning final shot (which was actually caused by an overexposed section of film, but is beautiful nonetheless), you will be awed by Scorsese's work here.

Also stunning is the work of the two leads. Willem Dafoe inhabits the role of Christ perfectly, bringing perfectly controlled emotion to each and every scene. Harvey Keitel as Judas has been the subject of debate because of his NYC accent. That was on purpose (Scorsese used accents to denote the descent of characters. American accent = Israelite; British accent = Roman), but it doesn't even matter. Keitel is brilliant no matter what his accent is.

Honest, human, loving, and unafraid, "The Last Temptation of Christ" is one of the great cinematic achievements of all time. Martin Scorsese crafted with this film his most personal masterpiece, and perhaps his greatest masterpiece ever.

As is typical with religious-themed movies, the broo-ha that greeted Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" was completely unnecessary. The controversy all stemmed around the film's last 30 minutes or so, when Jesus imagines what it would be like to skip out on the crucifixion scene and live the life of a normal man. I don't know what everyone got so hot and bothered about -- though I'm no Bible expert, wasn't the whole point of Christ's story that he suffered the same pains and was tempted by the same sins as mankind so that his sacrifice meant something?

Well, whatever. As a movie, "The Last Temptation of Christ" is pretty good, and yet further evidence that though Scorsese is known for gangster movies, he's a quite versatile director. It's probably a little too long, and a tad sluggish, but it's well acted and directed, and well worth watching, whether you're religious or not.

Grade: A-

Jesus is plagued by voices in his head and a pain he has that is so intense as to have him in spasms. He has tried fasting and self-harm but neither have worked for very long. He works as a carpenter; one of the few who will make crosses for the Romans – much to the annoyance of his acquaintance Judas, a Jewish rebel. Following an appearance by a spirit, Jesus heads into the desert where he experiences temptations and, ultimately, learns the path he must follow. Returning to the real world he starts to speak and gains a following of loyal disciples who believe he is the Messiah. However for every follower, he gets 10 enemies – mainly among the religious elite who see him as a heretic and lawbreaker.

When it was released in cinemas and first screened on television in the UK, this film broke all records for complaints and also had the moral majority (?) up in arms over the controversy and the portrayal of Christ. Although I don't want to get drawn into that, the reason I think they are wrong to complain is the same reason I think the film is worth seeing. From the get-go, this film flies its fictional roots and never claims to be the gospel truth (pardon the pun). However what it does is to think around the gospel, to wonder, to suppose, to ask questions – something that millions of Christians do every day when they read the bible and contemplate on it. I'm not blind to the offence that this thought process could have but it still provides food for thought and, like the author's quote says, really puts some interesting ideas on the table in regards the dualities of Jesus as both a man and God.

Although this makes it worth seeing in my book and held my interest and engaged my brain throughout this isn't to say it is brilliant, because it isn't. It is overlong and rather plodding at times and could (and should) have lost at least 30 minutes from the running time to be a better film. The dialogue doesn't help that much at times but the delivery is good from a handful of great performances. Although most "Christians" are in love with Gibson's portrayal of Christ recently, Dafoe goes deeper and more complex with a performance where he seems to totally understand the complex motivations that could have run through Christ – he is convincing as man and God and his though process is clear and engaging. He is helped by some great support. Specifically Keitel is great and helps bring out a Judas that is the opposite of the greedy failure we are told he is – instead he takes the second hardest job; he makes it work really well and dominates his scenes. Support is also strong from Hershey, Argo, Been and Bowie (yes, even Bowie) who all come over with smaller but impressive performances. Scorsese directs with deliberate movements at times but he matches the mood of the period that is well set by sets, costumes and the cool ethnic score.

Overall this is not a great film and if you have no belief or interest in Jesus then I cannot see why you'd bother to get through such a long film that lacks pace. However as spiritual food for thought it is wonderful and really engaged my brain – even if you (rightly) dismiss the film as fiction, it is still useful as spiritual debate and providing a view of things that you can study out and draw from. Compared to the thoughtless, cold and spiritually empty film by Mel Gibson 15 years later, this is vastly better and worth seeing if you saw that.

I thought this movie was an excellent piece of film making. A fabulous score and stunning cinematography take us through the inner struggle of Jesus in accepting his role and his duty. It tells how he faced temptation, ridicule , torture and triumph. Before you burn my name in effigy for liking this movie, be open minded and just experience a good film. The "disclaimer" at the beginning of the movie says it all. It is not necessarily based on events in the Bible. Just as Jesus used parables as a way of teaching, this movie tells a story of a man's life and events that we can all somehow personally relate to. By the way, the portrayal of Satan was the best I've seen yet.