The Gospel by Pier Paolo Pasolini - Movie Review Example

Movie Review the Gospel According to St. Matthew, by Pasolini Introduction Pier Paolo Pasolini is an atheist, Marxist and homosexual invited to St Francis hometown of Assisi by the pope in order for him to be part of the missionary Franciscan monastery. While waiting to attend the function in his hotel room, Pasolini found a copy of the gospel according to Mathew and spent his time reading the whole edition. During this time, he developed the idea of writing and directing a play based on the narration of Mathew on the life of Jesus and that is how the gospel according to St Mathew film was developed. The movie was shot in 1964 in the same village that Mel Gibson would later film his passion for Christ, a movie that also depicted the life of Christ as illustrated in the gospels. Made from a non-believer’s perspective, the gospel according to St Mathew stands out as one of the most effective religious films that clearly illustrated the theme that was intended. Because of his position as an atheist, a Marxist and a homosexual at the same time, Pasolini did not preach in his play, neither did he glorify, underline or sentimentalize the play as has been seen in other Christ plays directed by believers and religious filmmakers. Synopsis of the movie The gospel according to St Mathew tells the life of Jesus Christ from a documentary perspective shoot from a low budget but intended to provide a primary encounter of the life of Christ as was documented by Mathew himself. Developed in the suburbs and poor districts of Italy, the movie adopted a neo-realism in which ordinary people were randomly picked to represent the characters in the play as opposed to established actors as has been the case in other Christ story movies like the passion of Christ. Based on this perspective, Pasolini picked a Spanish economics student to play the role of Christ though he says that he has never before the play. Enrique had approached Pasolini to talk to him about some of his academic projects but Pasolini ambushed him with the idea of featuring in one of his films which in this case was the gospel according to St Mathew. To Pasolini, Enrique fitted well to the description of the Christ of Michelangelo with his Jewish and Basque origin and a frame that would bring him close to what Jesus was believed to look like during the gospel times. Apart from first time actor playing the role of Jesus, Pasolini also featured other first timers who were majorly local peasants, storekeepers and even truck drivers to play other support roles in the movie. Analysis of the movie Watching this movie, it is evident that it was shot without any screen play and depicted the page by page encounters as was illustrated by the gospel writer. The word is the play are those of Mathew and this gives the characters no time for actual screen conversation as it takes more of a narration play as compared to dialogue movie. However, the main character Jesus is show speaking to his disciples and the people of the cities that he meets as he walks from town to town as depicted by Mathew in his gospel. The appearance of Jesus in the play depicts that most Jews of the time with a long robe and short hair though unshaven and not bearded. The tone of the movie depicts Jesus as a gentle individual who at time speaks with a commanding righteous anger like a leader of a labor union who is directing his fellow members to boycott work in demand for more pay. As depicted by Mathew in the gospel, Jesus answers questions with questions, parables or even dismissive scorns and this is the attitude and tone that Pasolini develops in the play. His rebukes the society and attempts to upset the comfort of the people in what he views as sinful environment that is embraced by the people. Flow of the film Shot in 1964, the gospel according to St Mathew appears in black and white and is shot with simplicity and mono dialogue directed at one main character. For example, in the first shot, Mary and joseph appear in a close-up separately. Mary then appears from a long shot and we are showed of his pregnancy with joseph accepting his fate and the fact that his wife is pregnant from a holly power. The angel in the movie is played by an ordinary peasant girl who wakes joseph from his dream and explains the situation and pregnancy of his wife to him. As Herod kills children that he fears will challenge his reign at the throne, Pasolini fails to enclose the violence and this is showed clearly. However, the director uses the theme song sometimes I fell like a motherless child while shooting the massacre of the children to further improve its impacts to the viewers and make the point stronger. When Jesus debate the elders in the temple according to the play, the curiosity of the children is also represented as they are shown to sit in their own row, eager to listen to their age mate who can challenge the rabbis of the temple. When Jesus makes a good point that the old church leaders seem to be unfamiliar with, the children are shown to look at them with a grinning face while shouting with joy. However, this play treats the miracles performed by Jesus in low key including the one in which he walks on water and multiplies the bread and fish. This demonstrates the non-believer angle that Pasolini adopted to the movie that eliminates the triumphant music or the shouts that have been widely adopted in other Jesus narrative movies. While Mel Gibson followed the script of Mathew during the crucifixion of Jesus and placed the blame on the Jewish high priest, Pasolini adopts a position that seems friendlier to the anti-Semitic. He films the debate during the crucifixion of Jesus in long shots as a result showing priests who are less angry and spiteful as has been the case in other movies. The temple high priest is shown in the movie to have high understanding of the bible and is ponderous of their intentions and approaches the issue with soberness. At the end, the words of Mathew ‘may his blood be on our children´ is shown, a part that Gibson ignored due to the religious angle that his movie took as compared to the play by Pasolini. Comparing Pasolini with other Christ narration movies shows a completely different picture with less violence during the last section in which Jesus is purportedly killed. While Mel Gibson demonstrated the suffering and torturing that Jesus is subjected to, Pasolini provides a completely different picture with the cross being carried only by Simon. Though Jesus wears a crown of thorns, the drop of blood from his head is minimal to show that other films may have exaggerated the pain. Conclusion Though the movie is not shot like other Hollywood blockbuster religious films, it remains a harsh realism that represents the position of non-believer that takes his time to follow the path of Christ according to the encounters of St Mathew. The gospel according to St Mathew has been nominated for a number of awards and has also worn prices such as the special jury. Though the movie has been boycotted by white wing Catholics, it managed to win the internal catholic office of cinema award, a demonstration of the great works of Pasolini. However, the controversies of the movie affected the relationship of Catholics in France and Italy as the French contested the decision of the Italians to have the movie shot in a poor suburb. Work cited The gospel according to St Mathew. Dir: Pasolini Paolo. British board of film classification, 1964. Film. 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