Posted on 03/08/2004 4:58:52 AM PST by ultima ratio
Jesus' Final Days, Take 2: Pilate Is the Bad Guy By ALESSANDRA STANLEY
Published: March 8, 2004
When Tim Matheson ("Animal House") appears in flowing robes to portray Pontius Pilate in tonight's ABC movie, "Judas," two words come to mind.
"Toga party!"
There are quite a few silly moments in this well-meaning biography of the Bible's great betrayer, but the timing, at least, is flawless. "Judas" is not just a PG version of Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ"; it is a politically correct Judeo-Christian rebuttal.
Mr. Gibson, a traditionalist Catholic who rejects many of the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council, made a dazzling, polemical Passion movie that fits most smoothly into a pre-ecumenical age of incense and Latin Masses. "Judas" is the television equivalent of a 70's guitar Mass, less mysterious and exalting, but far more accessible.
"Judas" is the final project of the Rev. Ellwood Kieser, who died in 2000, and it reflects contemporary Roman Catholic teaching. Unlike Mr. Gibson's interpretation, "Judas" paints Pontius Pilate as primarily responsible for Jesus' execution. The Jewish priest Caiaphas is sinister, but his desire to get rid of the troublemaker from Galilee is prompted by self-preservation, not innate evil. Blame toward Jews, Romans or Judas, moreover, is washed away by mercy; the last scene shows the Apostles praying over the body of Judas. (At the risk of revealing the plot, Judas hangs himself.)
Jesus' agony in this film is brutal and graphic but brief. Most scenes show him praying, preaching and performing miracles. He even wrestles boyishly with Judas in the early days of their friendship. "Judas" has its cheesy, made-for-television moments, but it is balm to those who felt that Mr. Gibson gloried in the violence of the Crucifixion at the expense of Jesus' message of love and forgiveness.
And unlike Mr. Gibson's final scene, which reveals a resurrected Jesus staring militantly into the future, "Judas" does not overtly proclaim Jesus' divinity; he is a holy man for sure, but perhaps in deference to non-Christians his resurrection is left to the imagination.
ABC has labeled its Judas story an "interpretive dramatization," and it took quite a bit of interpretation to create a back story for Judas, the Apostle who betrayed his leader for 30 pieces of silver. The Gospels are elliptical about Judas Iscariot's background and motivation. (The Book of Matthew posits greed; the Gospel according to St. John suggests that Judas was possessed by Satan.)
In this more psychoanalytic version, written by Tom Fontana ("Oz," "Homicide"), who is also an executive producer of the film, Judas is an anti-Roman rebel whose rage and emotional instability are rooted in an unhappy childhood. The first scene shows Judas' father being crucified by the Romans while an 8-year-old Judas cries helplessly at his feet.
Judas, who grows up to be a wine merchant, is tall, dark and handsome: a soap opera version of Che Guevara. He is also obsessed with finding a leader for the revolution. "I was very impressed by what you did in the temple today," he tells Jesus after watching him throw out the moneylenders.
Jesus replies: "Don't be. I was trying to make a point and lost my temper."
Judas and Jesus speak with flat, surfer accents that clash distractingly with the British accents of other characters. If nothing else, that explains why Mr. Gibson chose to have his characters speak Aramaic and Latin.
Judas, assigned to manage the funds, wants Jesus to charge for miracles and never stops trying to foment sedition among the Apostles, which leads to scenes like this: "The Romans take and take," one Apostle grumbles. "And give nothing in return," another agrees. It takes considerable restraint not to chime in with, "They built the aqueducts," a memorable line from the "What have the bloody Romans ever done for us?" scene in Monty Python's "Life of Brian."
It is easy to laugh at this ABC movie: Jesus looks more like a California cult leader than the Messiah, and the dialogue sometimes turns laughably colloquial. But the filmmakers' honorable intentions eventually come through. "Judas" is a life of Jesus for those who feel that Mr. Gibson has stirred up quite enough religious and political passions as it is.
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