It's safe to say that The Last Temptation of Christ gives us an interpretation of the son of God unlike anything we've experienced before. Martin Scorcese presents us with a Christ figure who is utterly human in Willem Dafoe, and struggles with fear, doubt, and temptation. As you can well imagine, a Jesus fighting to overcome his lust for Mary Magdalene created quite an outcry from religious communities all over the world. While the film was in theaters, a French fundamentalist group went so far as to launch molotov cocktails at the St Michel theater in Paris, which was showing the film at the time. Extensive damage was done to the theater, and many audiences were scared off from seeing the film. If nothing else, The Last Temptation of Christ demonstrates the inherent hypocrisy between any person who believes in a religion founded on love and tolerance, yet is also capable of these kinds of destructive actions. The film takes the mystical elements out of the equation, and instead shows us a man faced with a tremendously difficult decision -- a far more interesting interpretation, to be sure.
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
