Monty Python's Life of Brian
Jesus Gets A Sense of Humor
"Life of Bryan" is an interesting film to explore for two main reasons. The first is that unlike other Jesus films it does not document or narrate the life of Jesus Christ. Rather, "Life of Brian" documents the life of Brian Cohen, a man mistaken for the Messiah during the same historical time period as Jesus. The second reason that this film is different from others is that it is a comedy. Comedy is practically non-existent in other Jesus films. It can be very risky to apply comedy to a subject as touchy as Christ and Christianity.
It is interesting that this film is always included in the genre and discussion of Jesus films, even though Jesus himself only appears in one scene, and the movie chronicles a reluctant Messiah named Brian instead. Even though Life of Bryan is not directly a movie about the life of Jesus it does have a very close relationship to other Jesus films in its story and themes. Therefore, Life of Bryan has become a very insightful and thought provoking film in the genre of the Jesus film.
Life of Bryan was released in 1979 and directed by Terry Jones who was a member of the famous British television series Monty Python’s Flying Circus. In the same spirit as most Monty Python material Life of Bryan is a satire, and often flirts with absurdity. The brilliance of Life of Bryan and other Monty Python projects is the subtle yet high degree of intelligence that is mixed in with the shameless and completely ridiculous. Ironically, this film is a very effective comedy that demands to be taken seriously.
At first glance the Life of Brian takes a little getting used to. First of all, the cast is very small and many parts are played by the same people. Also, in the spirit of Monty Python many times the women played by men dressed as women, but the costumes and performances are diverse enough to make it easy for the viewer to differentiate. The other aspect that takes some getting used to is the heavy British accents within the dialogue. The accents in this film are thick. At some points it can even be hard to understand.
In order to interpret Life of Bryan the viewer needs to understand what is being satirized or parodied. The common misperception of the film is that Jesus is being parodied. But almost anyone who has seen the film will tell you that this is not the case. If anyone or anything religious is being parodied it is the Jesus films of before, 1st Century Palestine, and abuses that can occur within religion. An excellent example is the only scene that actually depicts Jesus Christ. Jesus is delivering his Sermon on the Mount, and the scene is very much in the same, stale, Hallmark style as The Greatest Story Ever Told. This same sort of jab is in an earlier scene of the Nativity that portrays a picture perfect, post card ready Nativity scene.
During Jesus’ delivery of the Sermon on the Mount the camera steps back into the crowd to get a different perspective. As the voice gets fainter a group in the back interprets Jesus as saying, “Blessed are the cheesemakers.” As they attempt to piece together what is meant by this, one of the more “educated” men of the group says confidently, “It is not to be taken literally, but is saying blessed are the manufacturers of general dairy products.” As the debate becomes more heated, it eventually breaks out into violence. This is ironic since the actual saying of Jesus was, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” It is this sort of smart and clever, yet ridiculous humor that is displayed throughout the film.
The richness of the comedic content in Life of Bryan is enough to warrant it a piece of thought provoking art. The ending Crucifixion musical number with the group of criminals singing optimistically, “Always look on the bright side of life” may seem in poor taste to some Christians. Perhaps this was meant to be nothing more than controversial, but there is also the chance that this portion of the film could be commenting on the sentimentality of earlier Jesus films and the over glamorized version of Christianity that is so often prevalent in the contemporary church. This theme of glamorization is also evident in the opening credit animation with theme music reminiscent of a James Bond film.
It would be unfair not to note that in an interview in Playboy Terry Gilliam (one of the Monty Python members involved in the film) stated that Life of Bryan was not even about religion, bur rather an “allegory about suburban England.” There might be elements of this in the film, but on the whole it is hard to imagine that it has nothing to do with religion. Besides, this was a Monty Python member that said this.
As a work of art Life of Bryan serves is a clever and thoughtful film that challenges and demands a critical view of religion. It's brilliant that Life of Bryan was able to do this while at the same time making the viewer laugh. As a piece of “religious art” the film may not do as much justice. It is not a highly inspirational film, but does deserve to be viewed in high regard with other Jesus films. The Christian should not be quick to dismiss any art that is not explicitly “Christian” in the traditional sense. Life of Bryan may not offer the same glitzy overly deified Jesus as other Jesus films, but it certainly requires the Christian to think.
Films
The Greatest Story Ever Told
1965 Directed by George Stevens
(Starring Max Von Sydow)
The Gospel According To Matthew
1964 Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini
(Starring Enrique Irazoqui)
Monty Python's Life of Brian
1979 Directed by Terry Jones
(Starring Graham Chapman)
The Last Temptation of Christ
1988 Directed by Martin Scorsese
(Starring Willem Dafoe)