Cet apres midi j'ai regarde le Jesus de Montreal avec mes etudants. C'etait formidable. J'aime beaucoup le film et la conversation apres. Je ne comprends que'un petit de francais mais j'adore ce film.
The conversation afterwards was perhaps the most animated I have seen the class so far in the module - lots of great comments coming from different people. Several still saw Jesus of Montreal as blatant blasphemy - some found it really difficult - I mean a film in French Canadian with poor subtitles is sometimes difficult to follow if you are not used to it. Moreover, as people said, the film is itself a pretty random pastiche of scenes from Jesus' life interspersed with Daniel and co.s existence. Personally, I loved it. The sense that the real Jesus bursts through their artistic, scholarly depictions of Jesus as a human being and changes their whole lives. The sense that Jesus is beyond art and beyond history and beyond the reality which actors can depict. I loved the bit in the library where the lady comes up and asks him if he is searching for Jesus. Yes. Well, young man, you will find that it is he who finds you. How good is that! I loved the bit when the girl comes running down the tunnel with that wonderful vocal track in the background - I've seen him!
Perhaps the most poignant for me in what was a pretty rich experience of watching it last night and some clips today was the final scene - where the two girls busk on the station where Daniel finally collapses (note the Jewish hospital actually re-crucifies him beforfe curtting him up and distributing him to the world - broken for me? - what is going on there???). The last time we saw those girls was at the beginning of the film singing in church. Now they have taken church to where Daniel/Jesus was last seen - to his resting place, out into the streets of the city. I really did have a moment when I thought that that was indeed what it was all about. Throwing off the confines of the church and going out where Jesus really is and doing church there where Jesus really was.
Wonderful, life-enriching conversation with the students and with myself. Thank you for the gift you gave me today, Lord.
Pete
You missed a big point of the film
If you notice that in the subway station where Daniel faints and where the girls at the end are singing... there is a big advertisement with Daniel's friend and fellow actor.
It is obvious that this actor has sold-out. Remember when they were setting up the foundation, the one message they got from his life was to not sell-out and become commercialized?
Jesus was extremely anti-materialistic. Jesus tells us to give all our belongings to the poor for we will have wealth in heaven.
I don't think that includes modelling for Gucci.
Jesus was also very anti-authoritarian
That is why Jesus had so much trouble with the authorities in his time (Romans and Jews). That is also why Daniel had trouble with the authorities in his time (Cops and Catholics)
Posted by: progressive | March 02, 2006 at 01:51 PM