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The life of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of Matthew. Pasolini shows Christ as a Marxist avant-la-lettre and therefore uses half of the text of Matthew. (NR, 137 min.)
6:00 PM
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A biblical film that only the Marxist, atheist Pier Paolo Pasolini could make, this starkly beautiful cinematic Passion play takes its dialogue directly from the titular holy text. Casting nonprofessional actors—including his own mother, Susanna, as the elderly Virgin Mary—Pasolini traces the life of Jesus (Enrique Irazoqui, a Spanish economics student and Communist activist) as he preaches his radical humanist message in the face of persecution. Strikingly shot amid the rugged landscapes of southern Italy, THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW is a transcendent work of raw, almost elemental power. [Criterion]
Starring: Enrique Irazoqui, Margherita Caruso, Susanna Pasolini
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Language: Italian
Genre(s): History, Drama, Biography
"A fierce magnesium flame of a movie."
— Peter Bradshaw, Guardian
"Superb in every way, and possibly the film-maker's best."
— Derek Malcolm, London Evening Standard
"Definitely one for multiple viewings, and arguably up there with Pasolini's best."
— David Jenkins, Little White Lies
"Tells the life of Christ as if a documentarian on a low budget had been following him from birth."
— Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"Seen as a Catholic-Marxist statement at the time, nearly 40 years on, Pasolini's cinematic accomplishment still impresses."
— David Parkinson, Empire Magazine
"Its most enduring achievement is an ironic one, given Pasolini's Marxism: No other life-of-Christ film is so contemplative."
— Steven D. Greydanus, Decent Films
"This highly political interpretation of the passion is as scandalous in its own way as Mel Gibson's but more poetic, more contemporary in its impact, and more serious in its overall morality."
— Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
"Pasolini uses a complex but seemingly stark and simple visual style, and he evokes wonderful performances from nonprofessionals Enrique Irazoqui, Margherita Caruso, and Marcello Morante."
— Don Druker, Chicago Reader
