Das 1. Evangelium – Matthäus (1964)

Das 1. Evangelium – Matthäus: Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. With Enrique Irazoqui, Margherita Caruso, Susanna Pasolini, Marcello Morante. The life of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of Matthew. Pasolini shows Christ as a Marxist avant-la-lettre and therefore uses half of the text of Matthew.

“After u0026quot;La Ricottau0026quot;, Pasolini was indicted by the church for blasphemy. The film apparently contained references to Homosexuality (it does). He was convicted and given a suspended sentence. So when it was announced that his next feature was u0026quot;The Gospel According to St. Matthew,u0026quot; you can guess what the churchu0026#39;s response was. Pasolini made the film anyway. The result is one of the most exciting examples of Pasoliniu0026#39;s u0026quot;Cinema of Poetryu0026quot;. I have read many comments about this film that criticize it for its elipses, bad acting and apparent lack of visual prowness. I will attest to you, though, that this film not only creates an honest 20th century portrait of Jesus but also dives deeply into Pasoliniu0026#39;s masterful art of filmmaking. Pasolini was way ahead of his time like many other Italian filmmakers of the sixites. The supposed bad acting, elipses and visuals in the film were all done on purpose. They arenu0026#39;t bad. In fact, thay force a patient viewer to look deeply into the minds and thoughts of the characters surrounding Jesus. The Gospel has been told many ways, but no one ever dared to tell the story on a personal level. Pasolini invites the viewer to experience the Gospel in a differnt way. With a wonderful mix of religious music (American, Brazilian, etc.), the film reaches out to the entire Christian world. I can go on and on about the other wonders this film has to offer, but instead Iu0026#39;ll just recommend you watch it. When you do, donu0026#39;t pay attention to whatu0026#39;s missing, but to what is there on screen. The film will make a lot more sense. Even for non-believers (myself included), this is an exciting film.”