Jésus de Montréal

Jésus de Montréal is a 1989 French Canadian movie that explores themes of universal and intemporal values in the passion of Christ. As such, it stands among other favourites like Christ Recrucified by Kazantzakis or Jour de Feu by Barjavel. The drama is supported by a mixture of the Messiah complex and events that can be directly interpreted in one's life as counterparts from the gospels, cast in the life of a troupe of actors performing the Passion. Interesting examples are the temptation of Christ from the top of a skyscraper, the meeting with John the Baptist as another actor (and from Jesus' own opinion, a better one) or the expulsion of the merchants from the temple in the form of a casting went wrong. The most interesting aspect is the choice of Quebec as a support and scenery for the story, probably the most perpendicular background to that of Jesus' biblical environment, including the Quebec French language with its mesmerizing accent that is facetious in a charming way. This succeeds in showing that however remote the time, the context, the cultural aspects, some stories always remain the same one, endlessly retold.