There are certain stories, such as the battle at Troy or the impossible love of Romeo and Juliet, that audiences watch over and over even though they know exactly how they will end. The UCLA Film and Television Archive’s series “Imagining Christ: Three Wise Films” exemplifies this phenomenon: It features one of the most well-known stories in Western society.
The series begins Saturday with a showing of “Simon of the Desert” followed by “Life of Brian” and “Jesus of Montreal” on Sunday.
The series, which works in conjunction with the “Imagining Christ” art exhibition at the Getty Center, reveals not only that the story of Jesus Christ is still of much interest today, but also that there are many different ways in which it can be conveyed.
While the art exhibition consists mainly of medieval and renaissance religious manuscripts, the film series offers widely varying interpretations of the story of Christ.
“(The series) parallels the exhibition … but the manuscripts were for devotional purposes, whereas these films are more about the filmmakers questioning “˜Who was Christ?’ or “˜What is a Christ-like figure in modern times?'” said Andrea Alsberg, curator of the film series and co-head of film exhibition and public programs at the UCLA Archive.
Yet though the three films all address the figure of Jesus Christ from a more modern perspective, there are definite and purposeful distinctions between them.
The first, Luis Buñel’s “Simon of the Desert” (Simón del Desierto), satirizes the Catholic Church through its use of a Christ figure enduring hardship and temptation in the desert.
Next, “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” takes a comedic approach by mercilessly parodying the story of Christ and the notion of excessive “religiosity.”
The most serious of the films is Denys Arcand’s “Jesus of Montreal,” in which a group of actors strive to share Christ’s message of compassion at all costs.
“The Getty only wanted three films, so I really had to narrow down my choices,” Alsberg said.
“I wanted to look at films that took different routes. … I wanted to have a comedy, I wanted to do something by Buñel, (whose work) is very religious … and then I wanted to take a look at somebody who really followed the Christ story religiously, which is “˜Jesus of Montreal,'” she said.
Yet despite the series’ variation in terms of the chosen films, there still exist countless other representations of Christ.
“If we were to do a longer series … we could probably choose 20 movies, and we’d still only be scratching the surface about how you would approach the human aspects of Jesus or the divine aspects of Jesus,” said Laurel Kishi, performing arts manager at the Getty.
In film alone, the sheer amount of representations of Christ is enough to attest to the story’s prevalence and continued importance today.
Whether for religious reasons, entertainment value or other purposes, the figure of Jesus Christ is one that will continue to appear in stories, films and other forms.
“It’s the greatest story ever told. … I think we’ll always have either a metaphoric Christ or real Christ. … He will always be present to us, whether one is a believer or not,” Alsberg said. “It’s a very interesting story, and I think a story that’s right for filmmaking.”