Rating: 
Summary: Great , unconventional strory of great, unconventional LIFE
Review: Director Arcand and Lothaire Bluteau combine their...and a fine ensemble cast's...talents to create a "post-Modern" gospel story that is spiritually moving, intellectually provocative and emotionally dramatic. By the end of the tale one would believe in Daniel's "message" and might even accept his transformation from "metaphor" to actual incarnation of The Logos...of Christ. Arcand's art is that he simultaneously puts the viewer in the place of people who witness The Passion Play and feel its transcending effects and puts the same viewer into the shoes of Daniel as he "transubstansiates" (sorry for the jargon)into The Lord. This is not a gnostic excursion into unorthodoxy or heresy. Neither is it intented to offend believers of fundamental pursuasion. Rather, it is a powerful fable...a retelling of the Christ myth in an unadorned, historical (existential, if you will) context. You be the judge of the results. I thought the scene where Daniel/Christ drives the tawdry commericalists (Modern Money Changers) from their idea of a sacred temple (the TV studio) was stunning. "I am not impressed," mocks a third-rate director of a beer ad that requires an actress-candidate to degrade herself with gratuitous nudity. Daniel attempts to intervene...pleading to the actress (a sometime Magdalen figure)... "You're too good for this!" When the "director" threatens her and...again challenges Daniel...he destroys several million dollars in recording equipment. When the "director" scorns this display of rage as a tantrum (I am not impressed!)he slaps her face hard enough to "knock it off her head" while her cohorts scurry off in amazement and fear. There are many great scenes which parallel events from the gospels but the film is not a chapter and verse allegory. It is said that writers of the gospels employed the stories and formats they used to speak to people of their time clearly and essentially and to later times more didatically. The former are unconventional stories about a very unconventional life...God-made-man in action. The latter are catechisms...lessons to learn in faith that might bring them to life. JESUS OF MONTREAL is a like the former. It is said a picture may be worth a 1000 words. This movie may be one of those special pictures...and the word is THE LOGOS itself. An incredible film.......
Rating:
Summary: Everyone Should See This One
Review: For serious movie-watchers only! A moving work, a piece of art really, about whatever you want, life, death, God, Jesus, everyday life and it's significance . . .Not a movie to take on lightly. I mean brace yourself for some truly thought provoking cinema that may make you question life and its meaning.The movie is about some everyday actors,putting on a Passion Play, (where they go through the stations of Christ, on his way to the crucifix)in Montreal,where everyone, obviously speaks French, (so there will be subtitles, but they hardly distract from the content here)and where the actors really begin to take on the roles, particularly that of Jesus. Things get blurry, where does the Play leave off and real life begin? A fantastic movie!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: Gentle and thoughtful. Great sense of humor. The more you know about western religion the more this movie will cause you to think. Much underappreciated and worth the time.
Rating: 
Summary: How disappointing...
Review: I agree with many other reviewers. I have been so looking forward to a re-release of this movie. I think it is the best "Jesus-movie" ever made so far. I even would have bought it on VHS.
My French is ok, but I will only buy if the DVD offers at least English subtitles. I don't see, however, why there shouldn't be a complete English soundtrack since the English version of the movie was excellent also. --- I'll wait and watch.
Rating:
Summary: Profound and Engaging
Review: I don't believe that griping about the lack of subtitles is a fair review for this movie. I watched the VHS edition with yellow subtitles, and while i recognize that they are necessary, it shouldn't reflect on the value of this film if they are not present.
And let me tell you, this is a VERY good film. The directing alone is tactfully and attentively approached, giving Jesus of Montreal an appeal that in undeniable to any viewer. The music is varied and well paired with scenes, the acting (at the very least) well done, if not superb. Our "Christ" is fantastic, played by a man who had be believing in him by the end of the movie.
What i mostly loved about this movie, though, was the incorporation of theology into a modern environment. The story of these five people are the tale of Jesus and his disciples contain multiple parallel's. It makes everything more real to me, and it protrays an intriguingly secular view of a Passion Play. I truly don't think you could go wrong in watching "Jesus of Montreal." It makes miracles into reality, normal people into disciples, and faith into something graspable for a society whose faith has grown cynical in its recent era.
Rating:
Summary: Five star movie, one star DVD -- NEEDS A REISSUE!
Review: I echo the comments of another recent reviewer -- it is inexcusable for a DVD -- a DVD, for Pete's sake! -- not to feature an English-language subtitle option. Even the VHS release offered this! What was the studio thinking? There aren't ANY subtitles offered, according to the packaging. What's next -- the Betamax version? It's a brilliant film, and I speak a little French myself, but not enough to follow this extremely Quebecois film with the understanding it deserves. I'm returning my copy unopened for a refund after reading the warning here. After waiting a long time for a DVD release, this is extremely disappointing. I hope a better thought-out reissue will soon be made available, for non-expert francophones. Until the studio gets it right, stick to the VHS tape if you aren't a fluent French-speaker. It's a great film, but this DVD is a terrible treatment.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful, moving and thought-provoking
Review: I first saw this movie just after its release and it still has the power to move me to tears. Ostensibly about a group of actors putting on an updated Passion play in Montreal, it has a deeper significance. The actors are superb, and the use of subtitles does nothing to diminish the lovely French-Canadian accents and the excellent dialogue. The use of Montreal backdrops throughout the movie is just splendid, including Mont Royale and Metro stations. *Jesus of Montreal* displays a healthy cynicism towards the church and all other institutions for their hypocrisy, lack of courage, and concerns with all things material. The use of humour throughout is deft and effective. The action develops very well, and builds up its own momentum as it does so; the actor playing Christ becomes more and more Christlike, as the effects of an accident become more apparent. There is, however, a horrible inevitability about where and how this is all going to end. The final scene (involving organ transplantation) represents the resurrection of Christ in a highly original - and deeply moving - way. One for sceptics and believers alike - Jesus of Montreal will make both groups re-consider their positions.
Rating:
Summary: Montreal
Review: I just finished watching the DVD, purchased thanks to all the wonderful reviews here, and I have only praise for this wonderful movie. Having lived in Montreal all my life, I can say that there are no holds barred here....what you see is what you get!! and I LOVE MONTREAL! The story line, the acting, the filmography......everythings is excellent here.....many thanks to all who took part in creating this wonderful movie!
Rating:
Summary: This Bilingual Edition DVD is THE ONE TO GET!
Review: I've deleted my earlier comments on the French-language-only DVD that was first released in North America. This brilliant film is now available in two separate versions: the original Quebecois French soundtrack and this edition with language options: the original French, dubbed English (I avoid this because I only ever knew this film in its subtitled version), and French, Spanish, or English subtitles (optional). There are also bilingual stereo and a French 5.1 surround sound audio mixes. Amazon has also finally separated the two releases in its listings and labeled them more clearly, so I hope this eliminates the confusion that formerly surrounded this DVD and led many to buy the "wrong" version, myself included. You'd have to be a pretty fluent francophone to catch all the nuances of this story without subtitles, and the Quebec patois is very different from the standard French taught in U.S. schools or spoken in France today.
Enough of the technicalities. And please overlook the tacky and possibly misleading DVD packaging, with copy blurbs that seem to miss the point and photos that fixate on the pretty Parisienne model to the exclusion of much else. I wholeheartedly recommend this film for anyone interested in exploring the story of Jesus. There is a lyricism and poignancy to Jesus of Montreal that is not to be found in Mel Gibson's snuff flick. Director/writer Arcand has crafted an extraordinarily skillful parallel script that not only re-presents the traditional Passion Play version of Jesus' life -- updated with challenging new assertions -- but also subtly and movingly reenacts it in modern Montreal, as the troupe of actors unwittingly finds themselves walking in the footsteps of their theatrical alter-egos. This is marvelous filmmaking, and true art. Jesus of Montreal is one of those rare movies that will reveal something new to you with every viewing. The more familiar you are with the traditional Gospels, the more allegorical elements you will recognize. Sometimes this produces very amusing results -- I am particularly fond of the sequence where Daniel/Jesus (played to perfection by Lothaire Bluteau) is "tempted" by the Devil in the guise of a smooth-talking entertainment lawyer. And of course there is a terrific come-uppance to the "money-lenders in the temple".
Despite comical moments, this is a sad movie, with Daniel unable to escape his destiny. Jesus of Montreal concludes in a welter of suffering -- Calvary, the descent into the Underworld (literally -- another of Arcand's deft touches, and watch for the head of John the Baptist!), apocalyptic visions, and finally, disappearance from the world of man. Yet there is also the promise of redemption and resurrection, and of miracles unforeseen. Although the disciples are leaderless and bereft, vulnerable to the blandishments of the material world (with the notable exception of "Mary Magdalene"), there is still Hope shining beyond the touch of evil or folly, and the angels still sing for those who will hear them, even in the unlikeliest of places (the movie ends, in circular fashion, much as it begins).
A beautiful achievement. Jesus of Montreal may outrage some fundamentalists and more orthodox believers, confuse or bewilder others, and but it never fails to challenge, and its message of love and faith and its abiding honesty and humanity is needed now more than ever.
Rating:
Summary: A very moving, wise and funny film!
Review: I've loved this movie since it came out...for years I was the only one at my local Blockbuster to rent it, and now I finally own my own copy! I am thrilled! Just a note though: it is not "dubbed in French" as the specifics say; it's IN French and subtitled in English, just like in the theaters. Don't avoid this movie because you think it will be preachy; it isn't. If anything, it shows some of the foibles of Christianity. The actors are all wonderful, especially Lothaire Bluteau (quite incidentally, he's also a babe!) As should be obvious by now, I really really like this movie and urge you to buy it.
|
