Community / Calendar

Art & Museum Exhibits

7pm

“A series of films and forums exploring the various representations of Jesus—from the reverential to the controversial—on the silver screen.”

Brainstorming began among the State Theatre Film Collective of a film or collection of films to pique the interest of community movie-goers. At this time it was shortly after Easter and the thought of religion in film was brought to the table. There are many community members that are interested in the topic of religion.
    All thought it was a very thought provoking topic that many are interested in, with a lot of films to choose from. There are many important questions around the figure of Jesus. The theatre is a perfect place to be able to feature some selected film and house discussion with speakers from many backgrounds. Considering the figure of Jesus through film is interesting because you are not simply seeing Jesus through the Gospels, a minister, or even scholars. Instead, you have a very full vision that often will reflect as much upon the context in which the film was made as it does upon the person of Jesus. At the same time, the various depictions of Jesus in film can often give us new insight into the figure of Jesus.
  The four films were chosen because they represent four rather disparate views of Jesus. In the first movie (The Gospel According to St. Matthew) we have a fairly traditional and somewhat literal rendering of the Gospel of Matthew to film. The two films in the middle, Jesus Christ Superstar and the Life of Brian, obviously offer very different perspectives. The first gives us a glimpse into the character of Judas while rendering the entire Gospel story into a modern rock opera. The Life of Brian is of course a humorous send-up of religious movements in general, but also offers quite intelligent commentary on Christianity. Finally Mel Gibson’s The Passion received an incredible amount of attention when it was released. Not all of it was unwarranted, but we believe the film deserves further consideration. It came under significant criticism for its graphic depiction of the torture of Jesus and crucifixion and his charges of anti-Semitism were leveled against it. With our panel of scholars and local clergy we hope that we can develop and foster a constructive conversation around this important figure.
  We think these movies will appeal to a broad audience, not just those sitting in pews or congregations but also film buffs and cultural critics among us.

The Passion of The Christ - The Passion of The Christ is a film about the last twelve hours of Jesus of Nazareth’s life. The film opens in the Garden of Olives (Gethsemane) where Jesus has gone to pray after the Last Supper. Jesus resists Satan’s temptations. Betrayed by Judas Iscariot, Jesus is arrested and taken back to within the city walls of Jerusalem where the leaders of the Pharisees confront him with accusations of blasphemy and this results in a condemnation of death. Jesus is brought before Pilate, the Roman Governor of Palestine, who listens to the accusations leveled at him by the Pharisees. Realizing he is confronting a political conflict, Pilate defers to King Herod in the matter. Herod returns Jesus to Pilate who gives the crowd a choice between Jesus and the criminal Barabbas. The crowd chooses to have Barabbas set free and to condemn Jesus. Jesus is handed over to the Roman soldiers and flagellated. Unrecognizable now, he is brought back before Pilate, who presents him to the crowd as if to say “is this not enough?” It is not. Pilate washes his hands of the entire dilemma, ordering his men to do as the crowd wishes. Jesus is presented with the cross and is ordered to carry it through the streets of Jerusalem all the way up to Golgotha. On Golgotha, Jesus is nailed to the cross and undergoes his last temptation—the fear that he has been abandoned by his Father. He overcomes his fear, looks at Mary, his Holy Mother, and makes the pronouncement which only she can fully understand, “it is accomplished.” He then dies: “into Thy hands I commend my Spirit.” At the moment of his death, nature itself overturns.—© Newmarket Films

Country of Origin: USA
Language: Aramaic, Latin, Hebrew (with subtitles)

Details

COST: $5*, $3* for students, *box office fee included
BROUGHT TO YOU BY: The State Theatre
WEBSITE: thestatetheatre.org