The Last Temptation of Christ1988

The Scorses-a-thon “When I see an ant, when I look at its shiny black eye, you know what I see? I see the face of God.” “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬ “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah‬ ‭53‬:‭5‬  There is a beauty and poetry to the story of Jesus that I think this movie really tries to capture. Some moments are conveyed beautifully while others miss the mark or the point. I think the biggest focus of this film was to highlight the human aspects of the Son of Man. And some of those ideas help to connect with Him but others I think only serve to distract from the message.  I think the idea of Jesus making crosses is an interesting one and I suppose possible as the son of a carpenter. But also think the movie front loads with a little too much moral ambiguity with the crosses, his relationship with Mary Magdalene, and his denial of his purpose.  And as long as it is it still feels like a Jesus speed run. There are a lot of moments that are important that this movie completely skips. Though I think it’s clear this is not attempting to be a 1:1 in the slightest. And I think that the choices are to highlight even in His holiness His most human moments. The righteous anger at the money changers, the love and joy of turning water into wine, and the fear of the inevitable.  And then that ending. The titular “Last Temptation.” I could see why people would have a problem with it if it wasn’t resolved as a mere vision. Though I do think depicting Paul, whose writings are a huge cornerstone for the Christian religion, as an opportunist and a false prophet is a curious one, but I appreciate expressing the idea of people changing God and Christ to suit their own intentions and feelings.  While I can see why Scorsese, as someone with a Catholic upbringing, would be drawn to bringing this deconstruction of the Christ figure to life, I do wish he had made a straightforward adaptation of the Gospel story. On one hand, I can see that it gives Jesus something even harder to give up than his mere life but also the happiness of a potential life. But I also think it muddies and complicates the story needlessly and makes Jesus not only a little too human but also stupid. Like Jesus, the literal son of God, would not immediately see through the wiles of the devil?  “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”  ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭15‬  Whether you believe in Jesus or not, there is an inherent goodness to the story that I think in this version’s search for his humanity has actually become lost. The ability to do good even at our own detriment. To be Christlike. To sacrifice.  And if Jesus himself succumbs to temptation, what hope is there for us?  So who is this for? For Christians who know the story, it is needlessly complicated, and for non-Christians, it is at best muddled and at worst misses the point entirely. I don’t know.  This movie is actually what kept me from continuing my Scorsese marathon. It was just hard to bring myself to watch this 2 1/2-hour non-biblical Jesus movie. I thought about skipping it altogether. But I knew I had to grin and bear it. In fact, this perhaps was my cross to bear. Jesus once said his yoke is easy and his burden is light, but I don’t know this was kind of tough to get through. It’s slow but somehow rushed, and the last half hour is devoted to the author’s fanfiction and polygamy fetish.  It’s not bad and it makes sense why Scorsese would adapt this specific version, but it’s almost not different enough to be really interesting. It makes me want to watch The Passion of the Christ or other gospel adaptation just to compare the different executions.  To use the modern colloquialism, I am whelmed by this film. My feelings toward it are lukewarm, and as the scripture says: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”  ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭3‬:‭15‬-‭16‬  So while I may not feel that harshly, I do find this movie, while interesting, ultimately unnecessary.