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Today, we temporarily returned to the 'L's for the NYTimes Best 1176 Film

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

Martin Scorcese.

I am not much of a church enthusiast.

I am really deficient around the whole Jesus story.

I have written here that I never really 'got' the idea of the trinity or any of it.

Does it matter?

Apparently so from the furor that this film caused.

It is interesting that, in two instances, this interpretation includes ideas that are in controversy today. The 'Judas did it for Jesus as his friend' idea is incorporated in The Book of Judas which is now making the rounds. And, the idea of Jesus making babies (although this is a fantasy or the 'last temptation' in the film) is in The Da Vinci Code.

The beat goes on.

How was the film?

Well, pretty good. It is long; 2 hours and 44 minutes title-to-title. I didn't look at my watch too often.

There are some really good parts and others that are a bit lame.

Somewhere in the midst of it, I was aware that many of the actors had NYC accents which Scorcese would not really hear through his own. Only a bit of a smirk.

I could only get a little excited about it. I like Ebert's defense of the film.

I think it is too late for me to take all of the myth that seriously except insofar as it has become (or remains) central to the battle for men's minds in the USA and the world.

It is such a distraction.

But, there I go.

No rants here.

As pure cinema I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5 and let the religionists fight about the content.