Il Vangelo secondo Matteo (1964)
Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini

Film Review

With his first two features - Accattone (1961) and Mamma Roma (1962) - Pier Paolo Pasolini immediately established himself as one of the true masters of post-war Italian cinema, joining the ranks of Vittorio de Sica, Roberto Rossellini and Luchino Visconti.  He then acquired no small measure of notoriety with La Ricotta, his contribution to the anthology film RoGoPaG (1963), in which he presented what was seen to be a scurrilously blasphemous depiction of Christ.

Pasolini's own views on the Gospels and Christianity are famously contradictory - he insisted he was a committed atheist but was unclear about what he did or did not believe.  Even allowing for the director's unwillingness to pin himself down it is hard to fathom what could have induced him to choose for his third feature a screen adaptation of one of the Gospels of the New Testament, in doing so bequeathing to the world what is now widely regarded as the greatest film portrayal of the life of Christ.

The Gospel According to St. Matthew (a.k.a. Il Vangelo secondo Matteo) is one of the landmarks of Italian neo-realist cinema; it is also, without question, the most visually spectacular and emotionally involving of Pasolini's films.  For all his claims to be an atheist Communist, Pasolini treats his subject with as much ardent reverence as the great painters of the Middle Ages brought to their divinely inspired art, adhering religiously to the text of St Matthew's Gospel, even if he himself was not in any way a religious man.  Pasolini's vision for the film was that it should present the story of Christ not as it actually happened, but rather as an artefact of human thought, seen through the prism of twenty centuries of Christian belief. 

There is nothing in the film that is not readily apparent in the source scripture; even the dialogue (such as it is) is lifted unaltered from the text of the Gospel.  Pasolini's only significant embellishment to the most familiar of stories is an unwavering humanity that no other film account of Christ's life has ever equalled, let alone surpassed.  This is transcendent cinema in its purest, most sublime form, matched only by Carl Dreyer's equally arresting La Passion de Jeanne d'arc (1928).

As was common among the neo-realist filmmakers, most of the cast consists of non-professional actors.  The part of Christ was given to a 19-year-old Spanish student named Enrique Irazoqui, whilst Pasolini cast his own mother Susanna in the role of the older Virgin Mary.  The film was shot in Calabria in southern Italy, after the director had ruled out present-day Palestine on the ground that it now looked far too modern.  The stark natural location, beautifully rendered by the grainy black and white photography, contributes much to the savage beauty of the film.  Pasolini's virtually unrivalled genius for strong visuals, conjured up with a remarkable economy of effort, not only gives the film an extraordinary narrative power, it also imbues it throughout with a haunting unadorned lyricism.

On its first release in 1964, The Gospel According to St. Matthew met with almost universal acclaim, even from those segments of the Catholic press that had previously showered Pasolini with vitriol.  Marxist-inclined reviewers were less kind to the film and regarded it as a staggering betrayal of the leftwing ideals that the director claimed he was committed to.  The film was honoured with the Special Jury Prize at the 25th Venice Film Festival and was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Score.  The absolute high point of Pasolini's career, and possibly the greatest Bible-related film ever made, it is still held in the highest regard as one of the undisputed masterpieces of cinema.

Film Synopsis

Around two thousand years ago, an impoverished itinerant preacher from Nazareth roams Palestine, claiming that he is the Son of God and is on a mission to redeem Mankind.  Known as Jesus Christ, he is accompanied by a loyal band of disciples as he journeys from place to place, performing incredible miracles, driving away demons and preaching the Word of God to all who will listen.  Whilst some regard him as a lunatic, others take him seriously and his claim to be the true Messiah spreads far and wide.  Not everyone is prepared to take Jesus at his word.  To the Jewish religious leaders he is a threat to the established order and must be taken out of circulation.  To that end, they ally themselves with the Roman law enforcers to have him arrested and tried for sedition and blasphemy.  The governor of Judea is unconvinced by Jesus's guilt and grants him a pardon, but he underestimates the determination of the preacher's enemies to have him destroyed.  In the end, the Jewish leaders have their way and Jesus is taken away to be executed by crucifixion.  Three days later, the mysterious preacher rises from the dead...