The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

One of Scorcese's best Scorcese has made many great films and has to be the American film industry's most underrated and underappreciated director. Because of its controversial theme and the viewing public's general lack of theological sophistication, The Last Temptation is bound to remain one of Scorcese's underappreciated productions.In any case in the able hands of Scorcese the protagonists Jesus and Judas, played by Willem Defoe and Harvey Keitel, are made to provoke precisely the sort of doubt and cognitive dissonance that any spiritually mature person ought to have in assessing the doctrines of their religion. As Thomas Merton among others once reflected, profound doubt is necessary for profound faith and Jesus' story, especially as told here, bears that out.As The Last Temptation has it, profound turmoil and profound divisions in the human soul are necessary for it to realize greatness, or enlightenment. While I'm not a Christian I think this movie does far more to stimulate deep reflection upon the theological conundrum of Jesus' humanity vs. the Christ's divinity than any other portrayal of the Gospels' stories in cinema. Scorcese's direction and Defoe's performance together make this conundrum supremely provocative. There are apt to be as many interpretations of the movie's message as their are viewers. Personally I found the way Jesus' humanity is portrayed, and the way Defoe's character reveals his doubts and inner contradictions in discussions with Judas, makes the possibility of Christ's divinity that much more feasible. This is hardly an anti-Christian or sacreligious film as some have accused it of being -- it's Jesus as Everyman and God at the same time. That's pretty standard Christian doctrine no matter how you slice it!

I wrote a review of this movie long ago and realized that I did not do this movie justice and so now I am starting over. Actually, no amount of words could do justice for why I think this ties as the best movie I have ever seen. But this will do so to an extent. I became a Martin Scorsese fan a long time ago. I first watched Casino and went on to other movies that he made. I went on IMDB and searched what other movies he worked on.Then I went to 1988 and found "The Last Temptation of Christ." I was amazed. The same guy who directed a violent, profane movie about greed made a movie about Jesus? Then I read that it was not biblical. That turned me off. I hated Noah and Exodus Gods and Kings since they trailed off from the Bible-so I did not want to see that done with Jesus.But I did some research. On You Tube, I found a 13 minute interview with Martin Scorsese which stated why he made it. He noticed from his Catholic upbringing that Jesus was God AND He was a man. He was a human. Like us! Since that is the case, what is it that makes Him human like us? That is the point of this movie. It's not bibiical, it's spiritual, and thought provoking.I also saw that Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel both adored it. Roger gave it 4/4 stars and in 2008 wrote a review for his "Great Movies" series of reviews. And despite giving it 3.5 stars, Gene called it the best movie of the year!I decided it was time to check this movie for myself. My 18th birthday was coming up, so I asked a friend who was once my babysitter to get it for me. I got it a month early. You will not be able to imagine how excited I was! I watched it that night to check it out.A part of me wants to analyze the movie scene by scene. But you probably don't want to read a review that long.By the way, the un biblical nature of the movie gained controversy upon release. There were protests, death threats to Martin Scorsese, attacked film goers, etc. over the movie. And most of the protesters did not even see it!But I wanted to see it. And that's what I did.There are 2 main inaccuracies I want to discuss. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says of Jesus: "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." So Jesus was sinless. Got it. There is a scene in which Jesus talks with someone on a hill and he says that He sins. This ticked off many people-and it was even debated on Oprah. But the scene does not end here. "We all sin." The person responds. "Well, not my sins." Jesus continues.Look at my verse quote again. Jesus knew no sin, but took our sins upon Himself. That's what He is saying-at least that's how I look at it.The biggest controversy involves Christ on the cross, and an angel comes and tells Him that God wants Him to live a normal life-and not die for mankind. Jesus has struggled with this fate for the whole movie, and is relieved to hear this. He comes down, marries Mary Magdalene, and has kids with her. This includes a half-minute scene in which they have sex. That angered the protesters the most.But the movie is a work of fiction-and so this is not meant to be taken seriously. Later, He grows old and learns that His "angel" is actually Satan-who has deceived Him so He would not achieve victory over death. He asks God for another chance to die on the cross-and He gets it. He goes back on the cross and-relieved that He has achieved God's will, smiles and screams: "It is accomplished!" This is followed by joyous music that I have to dance to every time! :) So the movie ended up making me appreciate Jesus's sacrifice more than any other moment in my life! I was so uplifted by the movie for the next few days, and I still have an emotional attachment now-after 6 or 7 viewings(in full.) I even shared that with my senior year English class when I had to discuss my favorite movie for a minute as a class assignment. There is so much more that I could say about The Last Temptation of Christ, but this gives you a general idea on why I adore this movie so much! I apologize that it is so long(this may be the longest review that I ever write) but this is to give you a general idea on how spiritual, and not blasphemous, it is. The movie was based on a novel by an agnostic. In the prologue, he writes, in paraphrase: "I hope this story will let any free man more than before, and better than before, love Christ." And that is where The Last Temptation of Christ undeniably succeeds!

Having a degree in Biblical studies, i can say this is the most heretical movie I've ever seen. I stopped counting theological issues in the first 20 minutes.Aside from that, I still think this was a bad movie. The cinematography was great, but there was so much information with so little explanation. We feel like we can follow it because we've heard about Jesus before. If we put that bias aside, the train of though is confusing. Since i could go on a few pages, I'll shorten down to a one sentence summary of my frustration.The Last Temptation of Christ is a visually beautiful conglomeration of bad doctrine, inconsistent characters, historically inaccurate facts, pornography, and a jumbled/incoherent story line.Not recommended for anyone, particularly not for new believers or those who struggle with pornography.

The best part of the movie is reading the reviews of the religious people. Right, there is blasphemy in copious amounts, but it's not the kind you see in that famous church scene in the Exorcist. It comes from asking oneself the question: "how would a regular man pay the part of Jesus"? That's probably one of the most important parts of the movie.The scene with John the Baptist raises another question. "How would one know if a religious movement comes from God, or not." And, to me, at least the whole scene was quite disturbing, especially the crazed girl fans John had.Another point that is made in the movie is that Jesus doesn't need to be godly, or resurrect. His story, in the hands of the right sociopaths, will find its way. We are left wondering if it really matters if Jesus existed and died at the cross and if his life really had that kind of impact on world history, or is it just that we use him as an excuse for everything we do.My favorite part of the movie is the scene when Jesus enters Jerusalem. I think it's probably the music. All in all, I think is an OK movie, except for a few issues with pacing.