Jesus was a Commie was introduced to me during a Theology lesson. We watched this film in coordination with readings by Gustavo Gutierrez. The title alone of this movie will draw any viewer in, at least for me it did! I was immediately annoyed and outraged by the title of the movie- but shouldn't that be the effect of all great movies? As a deeply religious Catholic my first thoughts were how could anyone accuse Jesus of being a communist. These accusations came at the cost of putting Stalin and Jesus on the same level, BUT the film turned my feelings of outrage into understanding and agreement to a certain extent!
The film began and automatically it was not what I was expecting from a film entitled "Jesus was a Commie"! I expected it to drag on like some of the most boring religious based films often do, but instead the screen flashed wonderful graphics which complemented the narrative very well. The music going along with this also made the entire 13 minutes of the film very enjoyable. I was captured by what Matthew Modine had to say about Jesus and communism. Surprisingly, I found myself in agreement with Matthew.
I don't want to give away too much of what the film covers, but I would like to mention the idea of oppression, which comes up in the movie through the idea of violence and such. I believe this movie gives a great viewpoint on salvation and the Reign of God which can be correlated to Gutierrez's writings' such as "Christ the Liberator" found in Essential Writings. This film does not create the controversy one would expect from its title. Jesus was a Commie has earned all of the 10 stars I am rating it with. I walked away from this film with many questions as it was extremely thought provoking! This is a must watch for people from all religious backgrounds! I hope to see more from Matthew Modine.
(09667893)
The film began and automatically it was not what I was expecting from a film entitled "Jesus was a Commie"! I expected it to drag on like some of the most boring religious based films often do, but instead the screen flashed wonderful graphics which complemented the narrative very well. The music going along with this also made the entire 13 minutes of the film very enjoyable. I was captured by what Matthew Modine had to say about Jesus and communism. Surprisingly, I found myself in agreement with Matthew.
I don't want to give away too much of what the film covers, but I would like to mention the idea of oppression, which comes up in the movie through the idea of violence and such. I believe this movie gives a great viewpoint on salvation and the Reign of God which can be correlated to Gutierrez's writings' such as "Christ the Liberator" found in Essential Writings. This film does not create the controversy one would expect from its title. Jesus was a Commie has earned all of the 10 stars I am rating it with. I walked away from this film with many questions as it was extremely thought provoking! This is a must watch for people from all religious backgrounds! I hope to see more from Matthew Modine.
(09667893)