Il Vangelo Secondo Matteo, or The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)

Cinema Sweetheart's Rating: 5 out of 10

Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini

Starring: Enrique Irazoqui, Margherita Caruso, and Susanna Pasolini

Rated: Not Rated

Genre: Religious, Historical, Drama, Biography

Runtime: 137 Minutes

Language: Italian (dubbed in English)

Il Vangelo Secondo Matteo is not exactly my first choice of film.  That's not to say that I don't enjoy a good theological film or anything like that.  It's just that when looking for the Gospel of Matthew in a movie form, I would normally turn to Godspell.  However, if you're in a somber mood, have about two hours to set aside, and are a well-versed Christian, this is surely a film you would enjoy.

Il Vangelo Secondo Matteo is basically what you would get if you fed the Gospel of Matthew into a screen-writing machine and handed out the completed piece as a script.  That's not to say that there aren't inaccuracies and changes made, but rather that the plot takes you straight from the Nativity to the Resurrection and everything in between--complete with choppy transitions and lots of speeches.

One frustrating aspect of Il Vengelo Secondo Matteo is that you really have to be a Christian to understand it.  Not enjoy it.  Understand it.  The film lacked transitions that make plots easier to follow, and besides that, there were very few details to designate who certain characters were.  Mary and Joseph were not named in the opening scene, and even later on in the film, it was difficult to tell who several of the characters (including John, Peter, and Judas) were.  All viewers had to go off of was the classic actions performed by them in Gospels.  I was also bothered by the lack of transitions between the scenes.  It was almost as though Pasolini decided that he wanted to change the scene, and he wanted to change it right that second, so he just jumped into it.  Now, it’s understandable if this is how the Gospel plays it out, but for the viewer, it can be a bit confusing.  We don’t have chapters and verses to break it up for us.

And of course, who can forget the dubbing?  Personally, the one thing I love so much about foreign films is the language.  I can’t understand any of it, but there is something delightful about listening to the sound of the French in Germinal or the Italian in Life is Beautiful.  However, with a dubbed film, I usually feel like I’ve been force-fed some sort of nasty meat-substitute in place of real beef.  What I mean to say is that it’s kind of shitty.  This was one of the better dubbings I’ve heard, but even so, I would have greatly preferred subtitles instead.  It was annoying when the English-speaking actors would rush through their lines because the Italian was shorter, or when you could see that the lips obviously didn’t match what was being said.

However, putting all my complaints aside, I have to say that there were several things that I really liked about this movie.  First, I loved the cinematography.  The sets were amazing; and when you were shown a scene, it wasn’t just a little piece of it.  Actually, the camera would pan out and show you everything…and it was beautiful!  When you weren’t panned out on the scenery, the camera was drawn close to all the faces…I loved seeing the faces.  There were so many people with so many unusual faces and expressions….it made you feel as though you were right there in the crowd coming to see Jesus; a sense of intimacy was produced with the film and the audience. 

Enrique Irazoqui was an amazing Jesus.  His commanding presence among the people was perfectly offset by the gentle smile he gave the children.  What interested me the most, though, was his appearance in general.  Strange as it may seem, I was surprised to see a short-haired Jesus.  The long-haired, bearded Jew has become the iconic picture of Jesus.  This one was a bit different from how I pictured him looking.  I was also a bit surprised by how serious he was.  I guess I always thought of Jesus as someone a little more kindly.  That’s not to say that Irazoqui was too harsh; just different.

All in all, I would say that this was a good film.  If you’re interested in Christian Theology, then you would probably enjoy this.  (I enjoyed it for that reason).  However be forewarned about the length and the terrible dubbing.  If you are able to find a DVD copy, you’ll have to tell me if they have it in the original Italian or not.  I had to watch an old library VHS, haha.

(On a side note, there is a version of this film in color.  Get the black and white variation; something is lost in the transition to color!)

The Actors (2003)

Cinema Sweetheart's Rating: 10 out of 10

Director: Conor McPherson

Starring: Michael Caine, Dylan Moran, Michael Gambon

Rated: R

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Crime

Runtime: 91 minutes

Foreign Film: Irish (DVDs are Region 2 only)

Anthony O'Malley (Caine) and Thomas Quirk (Moran) are two Shakespearian actors about to put on the show of their lives.  To help himself really get a grip on the villainous side of his character in Richard III, Anthony starts frequenting a bar full of gangsters and low-lives, and while there, comes across a very interesting situation: in Ireland's criminal underworld, a certain party owes money to another certain party, but neither of them have ever met.  Eager to get the money for himself, Anthony decides to enlist the help of Tom, a bit actor with no talent, convincing him that acting in a real life situation where there is something at stake would make him a better actor.  Tom, pretending to be his sister's English boyfriend Clive (Ben Miller), is able to not only get the money from the gangster Barreller (Michael Gambon), but also catch the eye of Barreller’s daughter Dolores (Lena Headey).  Things seem to be going perfectly, until the second party, to whom the money is owed, demands payment, and Tom and Tony find themselves scrambling to fix things before things get worse for them.

I absolutely love this movie!  The ridiculous plot, the spot-on casting, the wonderful disguises…The Actors has it all!  First of all: the plot.  This movie is totally improbable.  Even if Tony and Tom were able to pull off the heist, there is no way that they would be able to keep up the ruse for as long as they did.  Still, it’s one of those films where it’s more comedic because it could never really happen.  You have to suspend your disbelief and just enjoy it!  Second, the casting was perfect for this film!  I loved the many faces of Dylan Moran, especially his impersonation of the Scottish hit man Jacques.  Even when he was just simply Thomas Quirk, he was a loveable and sympathetic character.  However, the big dispute arises with Michael Caine fans, who say that this is one of his worst performances, and a disappointment.  I have to argue this last point.  Michael Caine’s performance is perfect; it’s his character that is despicable.

The only warning I have for this film is language.  There is minimal violence, no sex, and nothing particularly disturbing happens.  However, the film is liberally littered with f-bombs, and would not be appropriate for younger viewing audiences.  If you don’t like excessive language, you might want to avoid this film, although, I think that the movie as a whole more than makes up for the swearing.

Germinal (1993)

Cinema Sweetheart's Rating: 6 out of 10
Director: Claude Berri

Starring: Renaud, Judith Henry, Gérard Depardieu, Miou-Miou
Rated:R

Genre: Drama, Romance, Foreign (French)

Run Time: 160 Minutes

Language: French with English subtitles

Germinal is a story of struggle, pain, romance, and desperation.  Its incredibly heavy to watch, but well worth  the time.  Its a good movie for a slow, rainy day when you're really not interested in going out or doing anything, because it can make you a little depressed to watch it.  Still, it is a powerful story based off the novel by Emile Zola.

Germinal takes place in France in the 1800s.  Étienne Lantier (Renaud) comes to a small mining community in search of work.  He is taken under the wing of the large, personable miner Toussaint Maheu (Depardieu) and is brought to live with him and his family.  Étienne soon falls in love with Maheu's daughter Catherine (Henry) and she falls in love with him.

Soon, however, troubles flare on the horizon as the mine owner continues to lower the pay of his workers, eventually forcing them to strike.  Étienne and Maheu lead the rebellion, but when things become too difficult, Catherine runs off to live with her lover, the slimy drunk Chaval, who works for a neighboring mine.

Germinal shows us all a glimpse into the heart of the human spirit.  When the pressure becomes too great, when families are starving because their wages are not enough to feed them all, when the very place that gives you money to keep you alive is also killing you, what do you do?  It's a powerful movie, incredibly sad, but incredibly beautiful and intense.  If you enjoy foreign dramas this is the film for you.