Jesus of Montreal

Jesus of Montreal
by Denys Arcand

Jesus of Montreal
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VHS Tape Cover Information

Actor: Boris Bergman, Christine-Ann Atallah, Denys Arcand, Lothaire Bluteau, Paule Baillargeon
Director: Denys Arcand
Primary Contributor: Lothaire Bluteau
Edition: VHS Tape
Format: NTSC
Running Time: 120 minutes
Release Date: 1999-06-08
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Publisher: Orion / MGM
Studio: Orion / MGM

VHS Movie Reviews of Jesus of Montreal

Movie Review: Smart, moving, and thought-provoking.
Summary: 5 Stars

Denys Arcand's "Jesus of Montreal" may be one of the best movies ever made about Christian beliefs and ethics; it is certainly one of the best movies ever to come out of Canada. This French-language film tells the story of Daniel Coulombe (Lothaire Bluteau), an intense and ascetic young actor hired by the Archdiocese of Montreal to freshen up the basilica's fusty annual Passion Play. The resulting drama--which throws in bits of Roman-Judean history and "historical Jesus" research, with Hamlet's "To Be Or Not To Be" soliloquy for good measure--becomes a smash hit, particularly Daniel himself in the role of Jesus. But the play also arouses the ire of the archdiocese for veering too far from traditional Catholic dogma.

Meanwhile, the lives of Daniel and his troupe of actors begin to mirror the story of the Gospel in clever ways; wait till you see the film's updated take on Jesus in the Temple with the money-lenders.

Some viewers find this movie too clunkily allegorical for their tastes; others--who vastly prefer Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ"--object to it for the same reasons the archdiocese objected to Daniel's play. Personally, I was totally charmed, pleased and moved by it. I found the allegory both witty and appropriate, and the performances--particularly Bluteau as Daniel/Jesus--absolutely first-rate. The film moves almost imperceptibly from witty satire at its beginning to tear-jerking tragedy at its end, with a fragile but real message of hope. Above all, it asks discomfiting questions about what it truly means to be a Christian, and not just someone who accepts Christian doctrine out of laziness or self-interest. "Jesus of Montreal" is a smart, moving and thought-provoking film. Whatever your spiritual orientation, it will get you thinking about what you believe, and why.

Summary of Jesus of Montreal

What happens to the people putting on a Passion Play? Someday Mel Gibson may tell us, but Denys Arcand's Jesus of Montreal proposes an engaging possibility. In hip present-day Montreal, a group of actors stages the Passion in an outdoor, somewhat avant-garde style, led by the quietly charismatic and increasingly uncanny young man (Lothaire Bluteau, Black Robe) playing Christ. His identification with the role, and the way it bleeds into real life, gives director Denys Arcand plenty of opportunities for social comment--some of it spot-on, some of it a little facile. But the fragile Bluteau is such a fascinating lead presence (the other actors are familiar from Arcand's Barbarian Invasions and Decline of the American Empire) that the movie's spell lasts long after it's over. Turns out the French-Canadian approach to the Passion can be just as intriguing as the original Aramaic. --Robert Horton

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