428. The Gospel According To St. Matthew

The Gospel According to St. Matthew
1964
Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini

I actually had an interesting discussion about this film over at Andrew's blog, although maybe I should not mention that (it is kind of like when small bookstores recommend Amazon when they can't find something).  I meant stay here!  It doesn't get more interesting than right here!

Immediately, I knew this film wasn't for me.  First of all, this director is also responsible for 120 Days of Sodom which I don't even want to discuss until I have to.  Secondly, it is a religious movie and I am an atheist, so it is not exactly like this film is going to do wonders for my faith.  I watched it on YouTube and all of the comments seemed to express how pleased people were that one of their favorite gospels was turned into a movie.  In fact, I highly suspect that watching it was a project for a certain Sunday school class.  I can, of course, watch films that don't expound my own opinions but religious films tend to be over the top and quite dull.

This is the story of Jesus Christ and if you don't know that already, I applaud you because that kind of ignorance would take effort.  Anyway, it is the same story that we have seen thousands of time, with no real interesting twist to keep you interested.  Again, I am sure if you are Christian you really don't need/want a twist on the story and the plot alone is enough to keep you interested.  Alas, that wasn't the case for me.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Incorporated Italian neorealism techniques.

Available on YouTube: