Jesus of Montreal (French: Jésus de Montréal) is a 1989 film by Quebec film director Denys Arcand.
The film revolves around a group of actors in Montreal, Quebec hired by a Roman Catholic site of pilgrimage ("le sanctuaire") to present a Passion play in its gardens, with an actor named Daniel playing the role of Christ. The sanctuary is implied to be Saint Joseph's Oratory (although this organization actually refused permission to film there). Ho...
more
Jesus of Montreal (French: Jésus de Montréal) is a 1989 film by Quebec film director Denys Arcand.
The film revolves around a group of actors in Montreal, Quebec hired by a Roman Catholic site of pilgrimage ("le sanctuaire") to present a Passion play in its gardens, with an actor named Daniel playing the role of Christ. The sanctuary is implied to be Saint Joseph's Oratory (although this organization actually refused permission to film there). However, the actors' interpretation of the life of Jesus is unconventional (including, for example, the statement that the biological father of Jesus was a Roman soldier, who left Palestine shortly afterwards), and although the challenging production becomes the toast of the city, the Roman Catholic Church strongly objects to its Biblical interpretation and forcefully stops the performances.
The film is structured so that Daniel's story parallels that of Christ. In the opening scene, one actor points to Daniel, calling him "a much better actor",...
less
