The films associated with the Holy Week already the figure of Jesus Christ They are a classic of these dates. After two years without processions due to the pandemic, sororities they return to the streets with all their liturgies. We collect some of the fictions who have addressed this theme, almost converted into a own genderwhich takes us from epic until the ‘biopic‘ going through contemporary reinterpretations. All are available on platforms, which is why iconic works such as ‘King of Kings’, by Nicholas Ray, or ‘The Passion of the Christ’, by Mel Gibson, are left out of the list.
‘The Da Vinci Code’ (Ron Howard, 2006)
Ron Howard brought Dan Brown’s bestseller to the cinema trying to preserve all its main elements: detective genre, conspiratorial intrigue and new age esotericism. The mix was as crazy as it was entertaining and in successive installments of the saga its pulp nature would be demonstrated. The presence of Tom Hanks gave charisma to a film that mixed the Louvre museum, The Book of Job, the Illuminati, the Holy Grail, the Fibonacci sequence, Isaac Newton and Mary Magdalene. Crazy.
Available on HBO, Rakuten TV, Starz, Google Play, Microsoft Store and Apple TV+.
‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ (Norman Jewison, 1973)
Equestrianism, psychedelia and the subversive spirit were present in the germ of the rock opera signed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. It first materialized as a concept album turned event with Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan as Jesus and Yvonne Elliman as Mary Magdalene, then it took the Broadway stage by storm, and finally Norman Jewison turned the last six days of the Messiah’s life into one of the great pop cultural phenomena of the 1970s.
Available on Filmin and Apple TV +.
‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ (Martin Scorsese, 1988)
The tandem made up of Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader came together to adapt the controversial novel by the Greek Nikos Kazantzakis in which a different Jesus Christ was imagined than the one described in the Gospels, more human and full of doubts. Like Travis Bickle in ‘Taxi Driver’, here Jesus of Nazareth (with the stony face of Willem Dafoe) also finds himself at a crossroads between faith and guilt, sin and redemption. The controversy it generated was blown out of proportion, although it is full of brave ideas.
Available in Fubo and Filmin.
‘The Gospel According to Saint Matthew’ (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1965)
Pier Paolo Pasolini narrates the life of Jesus from his birth to his resurrection from the writings of his apostle Matthew and in the key of Italian neorealism. In his perspective, Marxism and Christian spirituality coexist, although if his proposal stands out for something, it is because of the expressive power and austerity of his images. A naked and beautiful work in which he puts into practice one of his main interests, giving a voice to the disadvantaged and criticizing the hypocrisy of the leaders.
Available on Prime Video and FlixOlé.
‘The Messiah’ (Roberto Rossellini, 1975)
It was the last feature film by another of the great exponents of Italian cinema, Roberto Rossellini. The teacher was interested in the figure of Jesus Christ because of his ability to remove the foundations of his time from visionary ideas, a man who used the word to confront political and religious power. The director used a staging away from any visual mannerisms (in clear opposition to Franco Zeffirelli’s vision) and chose to dispense with the iconic passages in search of closeness.
Available on Filmin and YouTube.
‘The Passion’ (Various directors, 2008)
The series have also approached Easter, as is the case with this ambitious production of four episodes by the BBC and HBO that wanted to become the new great television fiction after Franco Zeffirelli’s version in the seventies. His style is closer to that of Pasolini and, consequently, his Jesus is also very human. It has the virtue of placing us perfectly in the socio-political environment of the time and expanding the characters of Pilate and Caiaphas.
Available on HBO and Atresplayer.
‘Life of Brian’ (Terry Jones, 1979)
Monty Python achieved the greatest success of their career with this satire on the life of Jesus starring a poor devil who is mistaken for the Messiah and faces a whole host of crazy situations. It was accused of being blasphemous and censored in numerous countries, but it reached enormous significance, finally becoming a fundamental film for understanding modern parody. Memorable gags, anachronisms, distorted cultural quotes and brilliant ideas are the backbone of one of the best comedies of all time.
Available on Netflix and Filmin.
‘Mary Magdalene’ (Garth Davis, 2018)
The Australian Garth Davis was responsible for uniting Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix on the screen, she in the skin of Mary Magdalene, he in that of Jesus. The film has the particularity of being told from a female perspective, which makes it a revisionist ‘biopic’ on the role of women in this foundational biblical episode. It focuses on what the character feels and puts everything else out of focus, turning into an intimate drama set to Jóhann Jóhansson’s latest soundtrack.
Available on Fubo, Apple TV+, Rakuten TV and Google Play.
‘Stigmata’ (Rupert Wainwright, 1999)
There are many movies about possessions, but in how many does the spirit in question refer to Jesus Christ himself? Patricia Arquette, who plays an atheist hairdresser, after receiving a crucifix begins to suffer strange episodes (the most famous, the one that takes place in the subway) after which stigmata appear on her body exactly the same as the wounds of The Passion. The Vatican will begin to investigate and will find along the way an Apocryphal Gospel, that of Saint Thomas, who criticizes the function of the Church.
Available on Apple TV+.
‘Resurrection’ (Russell Mulcahy, 1999)
This film has always been criticized for its aesthetic and narrative resemblance to ‘Seven’, although the spirit of Russell Mulcahy, the director of ‘The Immortals’ has always been much more badass and enjoyable than Fincher’s. Thus, in this thriller, Christopher Lambert gets into the shoes of a policeman who is chasing a serial killer who is trying to reconstruct the body of Jesus through victims who are 33 years old before Easter Sunday. In addition, David Cronenberg appears in the role of a priest.
Available on Prime Video.