MovieChat Forums > Jésus de Montréal (1990) Discussion > Seeing Jesus in a new way.

Seeing Jesus in a new way.

posted 17 years ago by alan8653
13 replies | jump to latest

I saw this 2 years after Last Temptation of Christ. As a Jew I have always contemplated what Yeshua was in relation to his time and of course to the modern era. And The Last Temptation brought me along farther into understanding the interface between Judaism and Christianity. (I also liked Jesus Christ Superstar, a great deal)
When I saw this film in 1989 I thought Jusus or Yeshua was well on his way to being explored as an organic concept than a frozen ritualistic icon.
But with The Passion of the Christ there seems to be backpedaling or re-entrenchment.
Seeing this film now points out 2 things. First of all its not all that revolutionary in its Christian anarchism. It still follows the Passion play even if there is evidence in the very beginning of considerations of historical accuracy as opposed to religious accuracy. But on the other hand this was 2 years before the Dead Sea Scrolls were liberated from the academics. And even its progressive thinking in this film is somewhat prophetic it foretells the controversy about just who Jesus was, who the Essenes were, and on what ground does Christianity base it self on.
The conservative retelling of Christ has been counteracted by The Da Vinci Code in a most radical retelling of the story of Christianity.

[–] jjahel 17 years ago

"The conservative retelling of Christ has been counteracted by The Da Vinci Code in a most radical retelling of the story of Christianity."

Da Vinci Code is pure fiction book/movie

[–] pyotr-3 17 years ago

The Da Vinci Code is fiction, but it contains many FACTS which mainstream Christians seem to forever close their eyes to... lest they lose their faith.
Their "faith" is clearly based on believing things which were never part of Christianity.... things which were decided on by committees and sometimes even scoundrels seeking power and money. Exactly the kinds of things "Jesus of Montreal" seeks to remind us are NOT part of Christianity.

[–] deluxe-7 17 years ago

Good night and God Bless, anyone that brings the The Da Vinci Code into a intelligent debate need say no more.

[–] alan8653 17 years ago

Very insightful response. Scholars have been slowly unraveling the documents accepted as gospel and those rejected. Using simple logic Jesus (or Yeshua or Emmanuel) is giving up his secrets. Excavations at Qumran, and the continued deciphering of the Dead Sea Scrolls along with the Nag Hamedi texts are also shedding light on events in the Middle East between 200 BCE and 200 CE.

[–] alan8653 17 years ago

Its not so much fiction as questioning and reappraisal.

[–] ubu55 17 years ago

It's been some time since I saw it, but I remember JoM as a very clever attempt to address the contradiction between what Jesus may have intended, and the monolithic structure Christianity became, warped by centuries of multi-church-interpretation, (often conflicting) dogma and rigid beauracracy.
That it ends with subway (catacomb) entertainers keeping the faith alive, is entirely fitting and shrewdly observed.

IMO, the DaVinci Code puts religion on the same level as UFO sightings, Bigfoot, and conspiracy theory about who killed Kennedy, or alien corpses in Area 51. Another X-Files, popular entertainment that exploits collective paranoia, gullibility...

and the pathetic desire to find coherent, comforting belief in an age bereft of Faith.

[–] alan8653 17 years ago

While the Da Vinci Code is based on another controversial book, "Holy Blood Holy Grail"; this is obviously an age of correction as well as an age of the faithlessness.
I found Jesus of Montreal confronting the facts and myths about Jesus in a similar way to the "Last Temptation of Christ". We are living in an era where even religion is about to be questioned. And thus corrected it will resume course.

[–] ngaio62 16 years ago

"I saw this 2 years after.... "

Even if I were ignorant of you origins I still think this post is amazing in its clarity and speaking of truth to power. I have seen all these films [including Life of Brian] I saw LoB as a practicing Catholic and still loved it for what I saw it was. I was repelled by Gibson's film but by then I had walked out of organized religion. It just seems to bring the worst out in people world wide

Kiwiboy62
"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored" - Aldous Huxley

[–] moretap 15 years ago

Seeing how Jesus was an actual historic figure with documented teachings, one's understanding of him should always be "backpedaling" and an act of "re-entrenchment". Exploring him as an organic concept only moves away from the truth of his life and death.

[–] alan8653 15 years ago

On the contrary pulling myth away from him reveals the true light of his teachings

[–] moretap 15 years ago

That is the same thing I am saying. Pulling myth away is "backpedaling" far enough to the reality of Jesus, or "re-entrenching" oneself in the reality of Jesus.

This has been called "semper reformanda" (always reforming). I think it is a great way to approach Christianity. Let God decide the doctrines and truth, don't let man decide.

[–] alan8653 15 years ago

I heartily agree!

[–] 15 years ago

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