Experimenting With The Dual Nature of Christ

Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ is a Jesus film that differentiates itself from the rest. The outrage of this film was such to the extent that at one point the U.S. Catholic Conference called for a nationwide boycott of the film, the first such boycott the conference had ever recommended. The film was released around the same time that film makers were announcing that there was no future for the Jesus film, proving that the genre was not ready to retire just yet.

The Last Temptation of Christ is based on the novel “The Last Temptation” written by Nikos Kazantzakis in 1955. The novel and the film deal with the mystery of the Incarnation and the idea that Jesus was both fully God and fully man. Scorsese is known for depicting struggle in his films and The Last Temptation of Christ is no exception. In many of Scorsese’s films he explores the question of whether or not one can attain salvation in this world. His films are often brutal and heavily realistic in their depiction of trial, turmoil, and struggle.

It took almost ten years for Scorsese to get the project off the ground. The project was originally produced by Paramount pictures in the early 1980s, but as the Fundamentalist protests began, Paramount was unwilling to take the risk. They shut down production in 1983. Scorsese looked for backing in France with little success and finally Universal Pictures accepted in 1987, but Scorsese was forced to cut his budget from $15 million to $6.5 million. It was finally released in 1988 and has been heavily debated ever since.

The film begins with a disclaimer. The Last Temptation of Christ is not to be understood as a direct representation of the gospels, but rather an experiment with the struggle between Jesus’ dual substance. The opening scene is an overhead shot of Jesus curled up in the middle of nowhere. He appears vulnerable and almost pathetic, very unusual when compared to other Jesus films. Soon the narration begins. We are allowed into the psyche of Jesus, a very interesting, and sometimes awkward perspective.

The film was shot on location in Morocco. The landscape shots throughout the film offer a more accurate historical context than previously offered. There is an element of realism in the shots that seems to be lacking in earlier Jesus films with the exception of perhaps Pasonlini’s Gospel According to Matthew from which Scorsese was heavily inspired. There is a harsh reality to The Last Temptation of Christ. It is far from glamorized. When Lazarus is raised from the dead you understand visually that this man was a rotting, dead corpse. The musical score (by Peter Gabriel) gives a more earthy and Middle Eastern feel that draws the viewer into the atmosphere. The colors are not terribly vivid, with the exception of red.

Blood seems to be a very important theme in this film. One of the opening sequences depicts Jesus assisting in the crucifixion of a criminal and blood is splattered on his face. During the Last Supper the wine miraculously transforms into blood, a literal depiction of transubstantiation. An apple that Jesus bites into runs with blood. There are also sacrificial scenes with rivers of blood and dogs lapping at them. The Crucifixion scene is also more graphic than what is typical of most prior Jesus films. In the film, the last temptation is Jesus’s Crucifixion. The emphasis on blood seems to be a foretelling and haunting prediction of what Jesus must go through. The vividness and strong presence of blood drive home the theme, the blood is the symbol that connects all of the points.

The film can be challenging to the Christian. It seems that consistently throughout Scorsese is offering a “what if” challenge to the traditional Christian viewer. There are scenes in the film that are not necessarily non-biblical, but are not biblical either. They are “abiblical” in a sense, but are challenging to the common American perceptions of the gospel narratives. The relationship between Jesus and Judas is extremely close. The extent of their friendship is unlikely, but still forces one to consider just how close Judas and Jesus were. John the Baptist is depicted as a mad man. The lunacy of him and his followers is shocking. There is no reason to assume that John the Baptist was the facilitator of nude tribal dances, but it reframes our ideas of how radical John the Baptist could have been.

Willem Dafoe’s perform as Jesus is almost an extreme opposite of Sydow’s in The Greatest Story Ever Told. As was stated earlier, this film is an experiment with the struggle between divinity and humanity in Christ. Whereas earlier Jesus films can be accused of taking the divinity of Christ too far to the point of disconnecting him from humanity, The Last Temptation of Christ could be guilty of just the opposite. Dafoe’s performance shows Jesus as unconfident, confused, and at times on the verge of schizophrenia. There is weakness in this Jesus. Scorsese wants us to believe that these sorts of feelings were present throughout Christ’s entire ministry.

The film seems closest to the gospel of Mark. The Christology of Mark was viewed in the early church as adoptionistic. There is no birth narrative in Mark’s gospel. It picks up with Jesus as a grown man. It allows the notion that perhaps Jesus was not born with a realization of his divinity. This is exactly the sort of Christology that is presented in The Last Temptation of Christ. An interesting scene actually shows Jesus questioning himself as a blasphemer, and that perhaps it is Satan that is convincing him of his deity.

The most controversial section of the film is the dream sequence that occurs near the end. In this dream sequence Jesus is led off the cross by a young girl and goes through his final temptation. It is the temptation of a “normal” life. He marries Mary Magdalene, they make love, and give birth to a family. Things become extremely odd as the sequence progresses. Jesus is unfaithful to Mary, she eventually dies, and he remarries. His apostles abandon him, he grows old, he is witness to the Jewish wars, and becomes aware of his destiny (with the help of Judas and Paul) and eventually realizes why he must be crucified. The fantasy ends, Jesus is back on the cross with confidence, and dies aware of his purpose. The screen fades into bursts of color and the celebratory music chimes in.

The Last Temptation of Christ is a heavy film, and some Christians may not be able to watch it. Still, regardless of the controversy, the film deserves to be viewed as a serious piece of art. Scorsese’s dedication to the film is evidence to this fact. Cinematically, it has its moments of brilliance. The camera shots are often very unconventional and creative. Much like Life of Bryan, The Last Temptation of Christ might not serve the Christian well as devotional material, but does offer some very challenging and insightful ideas.

The Last Temptation of Christ

Experimenting With The Dual Nature of Christ

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The Greatest Story Ever Told

The Gospel According To Matthew

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The Last Temptation of Christ

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