(Jean-Pierre Marielle as Jacques Saunière in the Ron Howard movie The Da Vinci Code).
The movie begins with the pursuit if Louvre Museum curator Jacques Saunière, as portrayed by Jean-Pierre Marielle, in the world famous Paris, France art museum by Roman Catholic, albino monk named Silas; Silas was portrayed by Paul Bettany. Saunière, while coming out of the exchange dead, leaves clues amongst the artwork of Leonardo da Vinci, the namesake for the movie, the book, and the clues embedded in the art around the museum that lead the police to summon renowned Harvard University symbologist Robert Langdon to the case.
(From left, Paul Bettany as Silas and Alfred Molina as Bishop Aringarosa in the Ron Howard movie The Da Vinci Code).
Robert Langdon, as portrayed by Tom Hanks, initially is suspected of the murder of Jacques Saunière, by police captain Bezu Fache, as portrayed by Jean Reno. Police cryptologist Sophie Neveu, as portrayed by Audrey Tautou, disagrees that that Langdon should be suspected of her grandfather’s, that is Saunière’s, murder; Neveu and Langdon shake Fache’s pursuit and deduce that Saunière was a grand master of the French founded Priory of Sion.
(From left, Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu and Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon near the Louvre Museum in the Ron Howard movie The Da Vinci Code).
Silas, meanwhile, works for an anonymous to him person he calls The Teacher, which has links to the Bishop Aringarosa led Opus Dei. Aringarosa, as portrayed by Alfred Molina. Circumstances send Langdon and Neveu to Sir Leigh Teabing, as portrayed by Ian McKellan.
(Jean Reno as Police Captain Bezu Fache in the Ron Howard movie The Da Vinci Code).
It was Teabing, a purported expert on the Holy Grail, who introduces a theory contrary to accepted religious canon about a relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus, which motivated much of the subtextual mystery functioning in the movie. Charlotte Graham portrayed Mary Magdalene in The Da Vinci Code.
(Ian McKellen as Sir Leigh Teabing in the Ron Howard movie The Da Vinci Code).
The thriller aspects of the movie, along with the intrigue underpinning the mysteries animating the story for the movie, largely worked. That the resolution went in the direction it did was a bit provocative for my taste, though that does not mean the fiction did not work. I give The Da Vinci Code as directed by Ron Howard 3.75-stars on a scale of one-to-five.
(From left, Harvey Keitel as Judas Iscariot, Willem Dafoe as Jesus, Barbara Hershey as Mary Magdalene, Victor Argo as Peter the Apostle and Verna Bloom as Mary (Mother of Jesus Christ) in the Martin Scorsese movie The Last Temptation of Christ).
The movie itself opens with an account of Jesus that deviates dramatically from the tales shared of the holy man and the events surrounding his life as shared in the New Testament of the Bible. We first encounter Jesus, as portrayed by Willem Dafoe, in Judea. The carpenter’s son is confronted by Judas Iscariot, as portrayed by Harvey Keitel, with a mandate to murder his friend for collaborating with the Romans to crucify Jewish rebels. Judging the messianic path in front of Jesus, Judas declines the mandate and spares his friend, warning him away from harming the rebellion.
(From left, Randy Danson as Mary, sister of Lazarus, and Peggy Gormley as Martha, sister of Lazarus in the Martin Scorsese movie The Last Temptation of Christ).
After being baptized by John the Baptist, as portrayed by Andre Gregory, and saving the prostitute Mary Magdalene, as portrayed by Barbara Hershey from a stoning, Jesus begins preaching in accordance with the visions he receives from God. A cursory telling of Jesus‘ preaching yields to a dramatized period of deprivation with temptation by Satan, portrayed in vocal form by Leo Marks. Having passed these tests, Jesus emerges from the desert and his nursed back to health by the sisters of Lazarus, namely Mary as portrayed by Randy Danson and Martha as portrayed by Peggy Gormley. Besides raising his health, the sisters encourage Jesus to follow the dictates of his flesh by settling down, getting married and having kids.
(Tomas Arana as Lazarus in the Martin Scorsese movie The Last Temptation of Christ).
Lazarus, dramatized in being saved from death by Jesus, was portrayed by Tomas Arana. It is with his ministry reaching Jerusalem that the Cleansing of theTemple of Jerusalem followed by the betrayal of Jesus at Gethsemane is dramatized following a dramatized negotiation for such between Judas and Jesus. It is in the court of Pontius Pilate, as portrayed by David Bowie, that Jesus‘ remaining passion is decided, with the aforementioned arrest, visit to Pilate and subsequent whipping, humiliating walk through the streets and crucifixion.
(From left, David Bowie as Pontius Pilate and Willem Dafoe as Jesus in the Martin Scorsese movie The Last Temptation of Christ).
The steps in punishment meted out by the hand of Pontius Pilate are shown, with the story of the moment just before death introducing a new storyline at the moment just before death. A Girl Angel, as portrayed by Juliette Caton, representing herself as a Guardian Angel for Jesus indicates to the savior that he’s suffered enough. Oblivious to the crowd gathered at the crucifixion site, Jesus is taken away to marry Mary Magdalene as God has found pleasure with Jesus and wants him, Jesus, to be happy. This lasts until Magdalene abruptly dies, Jesus living with Lazarus‘ sisters into old age with children, and Paul as portrayed by Henry Dean Stanton proclaiming the resurrection. With the Siege of Jerusalem burning Jerusalem revealed to Jesus among other things, the story has Jesus realize this temptation was indeed a ruse by Satan. Crawling back to the crucifixion and begging to die per the original vision, the temptation of family, marriage and a burning city is rebuffed with Jesus‘ death.
(From left, Juliette Caton as Girl Angel and Willem Dafoe as Jesus in the Martin Scorsese movie The Last Temptation of Christ).
The tug between the spiritual and the physical feels like the full value proposition that the film’s director, and the writers for the source book and the movie, had in mind. To say that exploring this point through the telling of this controversial temptation, as mentioned in the introduction to this summarization and review, was brave is perhaps the best light that I have to place on the emotions I experienced with my screening of the movie. While I understand the choices made in conveying the pull between the wants for spirituality and physicality, that exploration didn’t need to use the leader of what has been passed to us as Christianity to do so. I give The Last Temptation of Christ as directed by Martin Scorsese 3.5-stars on a scale of one-to-five.
Matt Lynn Digital 