Jesus of Montreal
| Jesus of Montreal | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| French | Jésus de Montréal |
| Directed by | Denys Arcand |
| Written by | Denys Arcand |
| Produced by | Roger Frappier Pierre Gendron Monique Létourneau |
| Starring | Lothaire Bluteau Catherine Wilkening Johanne-Marie Tremblay |
| Cinematography | Guy Dufaux |
| Edited by | Isabelle Dedieu |
| Music by | Yves Laferrière |
| Distributed by | Cineplex Odeon Films (Canada) UGC Distribution (France)[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 118 minutes |
| Countries | Canada France |
| Languages | French English |
| Budget | $4.2 million C$3 million (Canada)[3] |
Jesus of Montreal (
The film came out to critical acclaim and won numerous awards, including the
Plot
In
When the play is performed, the audience is thrilled; the show receives excellent reviews. Father Leclerc, however, regards it as controversial. He angrily distances himself from Daniel. The actor's life is further complicated when he attends one of Mireille's auditions. Mireille is told to remove her top, causing an outburst from Daniel in which he damages equipment and assaults a director, resulting in criminal charges. When the higher authorities of the
Daniel is first taken by ambulance to an overrun Catholic hospital where he is neglected. He leaves and collapses on a Montreal Metro platform. The same ambulance takes him to the Jewish General Hospital. Despite immediate, skilled, and energetic efforts by the doctors and nurses, he is pronounced brain dead. His doctor asks for the consent of his friends, since he has no known relatives, to take his organs for donation, stating that they would have been able to save him if he had been brought in half an hour earlier. After his death, his eyes and heart are used to restore the health of other patients.
In the wake of his death, Daniel's friends start a theatre company to carry on his work.
Cast
| Actor | Character | Biblical analogue |
|---|---|---|
| Lothaire Bluteau | Daniel Coulombe | Jesus[4] |
| Catherine Wilkening | Mireille | Mary Magdalene[5] |
| Johanne-Marie Tremblay | Constance | Mary, mother of Jesus[6] |
| Rémy Girard | Martin | Saint Peter[7] |
| Robert Lepage | Rene | Apostle[8]
|
| Gilles Pelletier | Father Leclerc | Judas Iscariot (possible)[9] |
| Roy Dupuis | Marcel Brochu | — |
| Yves Jacques | Richard Cardinal | Satan[10] |
| Cédric Noël | Pascal Berger | John the Baptist[11] |
| Denys Arcand | The Judge | Pontius Pilate[12] |
Allegory
Authors have written Jesus of Montreal has "many parallels" to the
Daniel's outburst in the audition scene evokes the Cleansing of the Temple.[17][18] In the subsequent criminal case, Daniel has a Pontius Pilate-like judge played by Arcand,[12] and meets a lawyer, Richard Cardinal, played by Yves Jacques who – looking out over the city from a skyscraper – offers Daniel profit and fame, telling him "The city is yours," which is a reference to the Temptation of Christ.[10][19] After he is injured, Daniel is taken to the Jewish General Hospital. Arcand said this is a deliberate parallel with Jesus being a Jew "rejected by his own people," but Arcand depicted the hospital as efficient and better organized than other Montreal hospitals because he felt this was accurate.[20] Scholar Jeremy Cohen tied the Jewish doctor's statement "we lost him" to the idea of Jewish deicide.[21] At the end, Daniel's organs are donated to distant patients who speak various languages, echoing Jesus' miracles restoring sight to the blind and raising of the dead, as well as symbolizing his own resurrection and influence around the world.[22] Daniel's "disciples" also continue his work after he dies,[18] led by Martin, played by Rémy Girard, who is an analogue of Saint Peter, but under the guidance of Cardinal, suggesting that by institutionalizing their message it may become corrupted.[7]
Production
Development
The idea for the film came to director Denys Arcand after an actor apologized for appearing with a beard at an audition at a Montreal conservatory, saying "I'm sorry, I'm Jesus."[23] The actor explained that he had the role of Jesus in a passion play at Saint Joseph's Oratory. Arcand went to see the play and recalls, "I saw actors in a mediocre production which received shouted applause from the tourists. I decided I had to make a film."[24] The actor also spoke to Arcand about the difficulties he and his friends had in the acting profession, taking undesirable roles in TV advertisements and pornographic films.[25]
As a
Casting
Arcand saw actress
Robert Lepage, who played René, one of Daniel's "disciples", was a playwright and said that aside from TV and student films, Jesus of Montreal was his first major acting role. He said that the screenplay was complete and detailed, leaving less room for improvisation than he expected.[26]
Filming
The film was shot with mobile cameras on location in Montreal, which has many churches against its skyline and has been "a center of Catholicism since its beginnings".[30] Arcand stated he often shot Montreal from a distance or from the air to represent God viewing the city.[31]
He claimed that while French-Canadian churches in Montreal denied permission to shoot inside their buildings, an English-language Catholic church allowed the crew to use its space. He said this was because, although church members asked to see the screenplay, they could not read French and needed money from the rental.[2] Some scenes were shot near Saint Joseph's Oratory.[32] A substantial amount of theatrical blood was required for the Passion play scenes.[33]
Reception
Box office
In Canada, it won the
Jesus of Montreal did not enjoy the degree of success in France as Arcand's prior
Critical reception
Jesus of Montreal enjoyed mostly positive review. The film has an approval rating of 69% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 16 reviews, and an average rating of 6.8/10.[41]
Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half stars, calling Arcand "the best of the new generation of Quebec filmmakers", and saying "It's interesting the way Arcand makes this work as theology and drama at the same time", adding Lothaire Bluteau is perfectly cast.[17] Caryn James of The New York Times called the film "intelligent" and "audacious", particularly praising the first half "before it gives in to leaden, self-conscious Christ imagery".[42] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote "Arcand has exposed a world that can't recognize its own hypocrisy or hear a voice in the wilderness".[43] Jonathan Rosenbaum called it a "must-see".[44] David Denby of New York, however, felt Jesus of Montreal was "smug from the beginning",[13] but the film was not boring thanks to Arcand's "theatricality and skill".[45] Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C−, questioning the controversy depicted in the film, saying "Hasn’t Canada, in the past 20 years, ever seen a single touring company of Jesus Christ, Superstar?" and claiming the film "flits between the smug and the ersatz mystical".[46] Hal Hinson of The Washington Post said the scenes where Daniel collects his actors are the best part of the film, but the rest is outdated.[47] In terms of religious response, Jesus of Montreal met "dead calm" on its release, in contrast to Scorsese's more controversial The Last Temptation of Christ.[48][49]
Critics in the
In 2001, an industry poll conducted by Playback named it the sixth best Canadian film of the preceding 15 years.[55]
Accolades
Jesus of Montreal won the
See also
- List of submissions to the 62nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Canadian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- Christ Recrucified
- Rang De Basanti, an Indian film inspired by Jesus of Montreal
References
- Lumiere. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d Rosenthal, Donna (22 July 1990). "The Passion Of Denys Arcand". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ^ a b "Canadian Films At Home". Variety. November 19, 1990. p. 56.
- ^ Malone 2012, pp. 119–120.
- ^ Schaberg 2004, p. 115.
- ^ Beavis 2011.
- ^ a b Pallister 1995, p. 383.
- ^ Beckwith 2003, p. 174.
- ^ Reinhartz 2007, p. 155.
- ^ JSTOR 1212699.
- ^ a b Stern, Jefford & DeBona 1999, p. 331.
- ^ a b Reinhartz 2013, p. 149.
- ^ a b Denby, David (4 June 1990). "An Actor Died for Your Sins". New York. p. 76.
- ^ a b Stern, Jefford & DeBona 1999, p. 330.
- ^ Reinhartz 2013, p. 148.
- ^ Reinhartz 2007, p. 32.
- ^ a b Ebert, Roger (18 July 1990). "Jesus of Montreal". Rogerebert.com. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ^ a b May 2000, p. 69.
- ^ Alemany-Galway 2002, p. 122.
- ^ Simons 2004, p. 162.
- ^ Cohen 2007, p. 247.
- ^ Reinhartz 2007, p. 37.
- ^ a b c Thomas, Kevin (29 May 1990). "Canadian Director Tries Loftier Topic After 'Decline': Movies: Denys Arcand wins praise and a prize at Cannes for 'Jesus de Montreal.'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ^ Chan, Wah Keung; Liganor, Lilian I. (16 December 2007). "Réflexions Denys Arcand". La Scena musicale (Montréal). 5 (4): 25.
- ^ Melnyk 2004, p. 141.
- ^ a b Dunđerović 2003, p. 150.
- ^ Evans 1991, p. 309.
- Radio-Canada. Archived from the originalon 11 September 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
- ^ Pike 2012, p. 105.
- ^ Alemany-Galway 2002, p. 134.
- ^ Simons 2004, p. 159.
- ^ Gray 2004, p. 29.
- ^ Bouchard 2011, p. 255.
- ^ Dundjerovic, Aleksandar Sasha (2005–2006). "Contradictions and Paradoxes in Denys Arcand's The Barbarian Invasion". London Journal of Canadian Studies 21: 3.
- ^ a b "The English track runs slow in Canada". Variety. May 2, 1990. p. 100.
- ^ Dorland 1996, p. 150.
- ^ Demers, Maxime (26 November 2014). "Jésus de Montréal présenté à Paris". Le Journal de Montréal. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ Marshall 2001, p. 85.
- ^ Curtin, John (20 May 1990). "Denys Arcand Offers a 'Jesus' for the 1990's". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ Nichols 2008, p. 206.
- ^ "Jésus De Montréal (Jesus Of Montreal) (1989)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ^ James, Caryn (25 May 1990). "A Modern Passion Play In Montreal". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ^ Travers, Peter (25 May 1990). "Jesus of Montreal". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ^ Rosenbaum, Jonathan (20 July 1990). "Modern Messiah Jesus of Montreal". Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
- ^ Denby, David (4 June 1990). "An Actor Died for Your Sins". New York. p. 75.
- ^ "Jesus of Montreal". Entertainment Weekly. 1 June 1990. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ Hinson, Hal (20 July 1990). "Jesus of Montreal". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ Gaudreault 2016.
- ^ Barsanti 2011, p. 88.
- ^ "Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on July 3, 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ^ Mackie, Rob (22 August 2003). "Jesus of Montreal". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ^ Kermode, Mark (28 March 2010). "The 10 best screen faces of Jesus". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ Lussier, Marc-Andre (29 November 2014). "Jésus de Montréal ressuscité à Paris". La Presse. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- E! Online. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ^ Michael Posner, "Egoyan tops film poll". The Globe and Mail, November 25, 2001.
- ^ a b "Festival de Cannes: Jesus of Montreal". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
- ^ "On his way to victory". Toronto Public Library. 20 March 1990. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ a b "The 62nd Academy Awards (1990) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
- ^ "Film Not in the English Language in 1991". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "Jésus de Montréal (Jesus of Montreal)". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ^ "1990 Award Winners". National Board of Review. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
- ^ Hartl, John (19 June 1990). "Teen film is surprise Best Picture winner at Seattle Film Festival". The Spokesman-Review. p. F5.
- ^ "Film and Video Awards: Toronto International Film Festival". Berkeley Library University of California. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
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- Barsanti, Chris (2011). Filmology: A Movie-a-Day Guide to the Movies You Need to Know. Adams Media.
- Beavis, Mary Ann (2011). "Jesus of Canada? Four Canadian Constructions of the Christ Figure". In Ellen M. Leonard; Kate Merriman (eds.). From Logos to Christos: Essays on Christology in Honour of Joanne McWilliam. Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ISBN 978-1554587285.
- Beckwith, Sarah (2003). Signifying God: Social Relation and Symbolic Act in the York Corpus Christi Plays. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226041336.
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