THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1964)
The following is one of the entries from my 100 Greatest Films list, which I invite you to visit on this site if you haven’t already done so. — Dennis
When Pasolini’s Il Vangelo Secondo Matteo was first released here, it disappointed my sister-in-law. All the buzz about a Marxist filming of the Christian gospel had her expecting what today we would call a communist “spin” on the material. This she did not find; this, no one would be able to find. Indeed, the film doesn’t impose a communist complexion onto the Gospel. Rather, by allowing the text to speak for itself, in the context that the images provide, Pasolini’s film shows that, translated into twentieth-century political terms, Jesus was a communist. Humanistically and non-ideologically, the film presents the character that the Gospel indicates.
Pasolini came from the right country to accomplish this. Christianity, humanism and neorealismo all converged to enable this son of Italy to make this particular film. Beautifully shot in gritty black and white—the cinematographer is Tonino delli Colli—over rough terrain, the Gospel does complete justice to the hardship endured by those whom history would anoint as the first Christians. Here is the finest, most profound film about Jesus, perhaps surpassing even the wonderful material about Jesus included in Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Leaves from Satan’s Book (1919). It may also be, apart from Francesco, giullare di Dio (1950), cinema’s finest instance of applying neorealismo to the past—and without the addition of fabulous elements that partially shift Rossellini’s (greater) film to somewhat different expressive territory. In its attempt to unite Marxism with his deep religious feeling, moreover, it may also be Pasolini’s most personal work.
The Gospel is nonprofessionally cast. I do not quite know what to make of the fact that Pasolini gave his own mother, Susanna Pasolini, the role of Mary, the mother of Jesus. For the record, though, her performance is brilliant.
This entry was posted on September 19, 2007 at 1:39 pm and is filed under Formal Capsule Film Comments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1964)
The following is one of the entries from my 100 Greatest Films list, which I invite you to visit on this site if you haven’t already done so. — Dennis
When Pasolini’s Il Vangelo Secondo Matteo was first released here, it disappointed my sister-in-law. All the buzz about a Marxist filming of the Christian gospel had her expecting what today we would call a communist “spin” on the material. This she did not find; this, no one would be able to find. Indeed, the film doesn’t impose a communist complexion onto the Gospel. Rather, by allowing the text to speak for itself, in the context that the images provide, Pasolini’s film shows that, translated into twentieth-century political terms, Jesus was a communist. Humanistically and non-ideologically, the film presents the character that the Gospel indicates.
Pasolini came from the right country to accomplish this. Christianity, humanism and neorealismo all converged to enable this son of Italy to make this particular film. Beautifully shot in gritty black and white—the cinematographer is Tonino delli Colli—over rough terrain, the Gospel does complete justice to the hardship endured by those whom history would anoint as the first Christians. Here is the finest, most profound film about Jesus, perhaps surpassing even the wonderful material about Jesus included in Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Leaves from Satan’s Book (1919). It may also be, apart from Francesco, giullare di Dio (1950), cinema’s finest instance of applying neorealismo to the past—and without the addition of fabulous elements that partially shift Rossellini’s (greater) film to somewhat different expressive territory. In its attempt to unite Marxism with his deep religious feeling, moreover, it may also be Pasolini’s most personal work.
The Gospel is nonprofessionally cast. I do not quite know what to make of the fact that Pasolini gave his own mother, Susanna Pasolini, the role of Mary, the mother of Jesus. For the record, though, her performance is brilliant.
Tags: Pasolini
This entry was posted on September 19, 2007 at 1:39 pm and is filed under Formal Capsule Film Comments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.