The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Film Adaptations of Christian Tradition



It should come to no surprise that any devoutly religious person will defend their holy scriptures and religious texts with fervor, defending them against naysayers and critics. Christians uphold the Bible as not only a moral code or book of ethical teachings, but a historical timeline as well. Catholicism and fundamentalist views of a complete, literal interpretation of the Bible leads to very little room for creative interpretation of the stories held within. This can often clash with Hollywood, who looks to the Bible for epic narratives with deep themes and moral teachings yet enjoys taking a certain level of creative liberty with their source materials. This often leads to controversy, as was the case with Martin Scorsese’s film The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). This epic drama follows the life of Jesus as he carried out his ministry on earth. This film sought to present a human, relatable look at Jesus, and portrayed him struggling in many human temptations such as lust, doubt, and fear. While the Bible does have Jesus go into the dessert for 40 days and was tempted by the devil. The film goes into explicit detail of some of these temptations, with those involving sexual relations being the main ones to enrage many Christians. A dream sequence involving Jesus and Mary Magdalene where they consummate their marriage was one that drew particular ire. This controversy got heated to the point of a Catholic group setting fire to a cinema in Paris for screening the film.
To an extent, I can understand religious people becoming upset over something as sacred as the story of the Christ being played with and added onto with extra details that were never explicitly mentioned in the scriptures. At the same time, one needs to consider the motive behind the creation of films such as these, and whether there was ill intent. Scorsese, a self-proclaimed Roman Catholic, had wanted to make a film depiction of the life of Jesus from a very young age. The intent behind the film was not to subvert the Christ narrative or to tarnish the name of Jesus, but to show the human struggles that Jesus went through for all of us. While artistic liberties were taken, it does say in Hebrews 4:15, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” If Jesus was tempted in every way we have been, then none of the temptations within the film are out of line, because these are real struggles that each of us face every day. If the movie had shown Jesus succumbing to these temptations and failing his mission on earth, that would be a different story, and completely out of line. When making a movie based in any religious narrative, it is crucial to ensure any liberties taken are ones that enrich the story with detail where detail is lacking, and not changing details that are already in place. Most importantly, one needs to look at the themes and moral messages of the stories being adapted, and ensure they are being faithfully shown in the film. Otherwise, why even use the narratives as your baseline in your first place?

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