The Gospel According to St. Matthew Reviews

In all honesty, The Gospel According to St. Matthew is one of the most complex, intricate films I have ever viewed and I'm not even joking. I can't even believe I was able to sit through this entire film without going on my phone, or skipping dull parts, based on how stretched out I thought it was. Yet, once I finished the whole two hours and 17 minutes, my emotions surrounding this film spiraled in many different criticisms, and I had to turn off anything near me so I could fully think about what I had just watched.

First off, let me state that this film isn't an easy watch and will require your complete attention. Even if you have read Matthew's gospel or the Bible itself, many events happen in this film and oftentimes it can be quite rapid, so this is why immersing yourself into the whole climax without any distractions will make it easier to comprehend. When doing so, The Gospel According to St. Matthew will give what it needs to give. It fills a void in you that speaks of your perception of Jesus, his disciples, and the despair of his betrayal and execution. Although everyone has a different view on who he actually is, this one may be the most accurate. Watching this movie felt like a fever dream, but in the best way. At times the pacing was lengthy and difficult to sit through, but ultimately watching this entire film was worth it, even if you have to wait for the memorable moments to occur. I also liked how it never succumbed to a principal bias and Pasolini's faithfulness to what he's adapting except it has a neorealism to it.

The acting was decent too. There was no outstanding actor I could ramble on about, but everyone's performance was well and made for a good movie. The aesthetic was okay but definitely not a favorite. The atmosphere was bleak and melancholic and made some parts utterly dull. What I will say is that when Jesus was being crucified it shocked me just how depressing, and somewhat graphic it was. Definitely a scene I will avoid the next time I watch this film.

In conclusion, this is a well-directed movie that featured many surprising occurrences and a somewhat personal look into Jesus of Nazareth. I'm not sure if I'll ever want to see it again, but if I recommend this to someone I'll have to be aware of what genre of movies they mainly watch.

7/10

(Mu) The greates story in the most simple way. The baptism of Christ by John the Baptist is my favourite scene, just the elementos, specially water and men and supposed sanctity. Pasolini sublignes the rage of Christ and finds a lot of biblic quotations, The deglamorization of the Hollywood bible films, is a must...