Jesus of Montreal

Most helpful review Jesus of Montreal

• Interesting but flawed Canadian dram

   

  By Philip Concannon from London , 07 Aug 2004

  [Highly rated reviewer]

  Montreal priest Fr. Leclerc(Gilles Pelletier) is determined to spice up the local Passion play and bring it to a fresh audience. To do this he hires a group of young actors to rewrite it. But when their unorthodox version becomes an unexpected success, the church takes a dim view if proceedings and orders the play to be stopped. To add to their problems, the actor playing Jesus is starting to experience strange parallels with the life of Christ.
  
  An intriguing setup, it's a pity Denys Arcand's script doesn't develop it fully. It starts of well with the actors being selected and then preparing the show, but then it goes off the rails with Arcand's decision to show us almost the whole play. At this point the film grinds to a halt and almost never recovers, a real shame because up to that point it's been a clever, funny and original prospect.
  
  Lothaire Bluteau is excellent as the lead actor, Daniel, who starts to lose his identity. The rest of the cast is also accomplished, but aside from Catherine Wilkening's Mireille (the Mary Magdalene character), none of the characters is allowed to blossom. Still, Daniel's martyrdom and eventual resurrection are inspired, so much so that it makes you wish Arcand had left the staging of the play to the viewer's imagination and kept the rest of the film on that level.

  • Was this review helpful to you?
  • (11) Yes |
  •  No (1)

  Report this review

All reviews