Abstract:

Representing the historical Jesus and the Christ-event is a challenge cinema has taken on from its beginnings, developing both direct and metaphorical images of Jesus. Denys Arcand’s Jesus of Montreal holds a unique place in this canon because it proposes both a direct portrait of Jesus and a metaphorical representation. This paper, taking an earlier study of the film (1997) in new directions, is structured in five interrelated sections. First it considers the meta-textual, two-layer, narrative approach to the Jesus story, with a particular focus on Jesus of Montreal. Then it analyzes some of the deeper and more significant parallels between the two-layer text of Arcand’s film and the Gospel. Thirdly, and building on that analysis in which the operative hermeneutic moves from Gospel to film-text, the paper proposes an approach to Jesus of Montreal that reverses the direction of the hermeneutical flow, towards the Gospel from the film-text. The paper then examines how Arcand’s film offers a provocative solution to the most thorny issue faced in any Jesus film, the Resurrection, by representing it cumulatively in three complementary narratives. Finally, it proposes some areas for further study of Jesus of Montreal. Where indicated or helpful for the analysis of Arcand’s film, other films in the Jesus tradition are commented on.

Author: Lloyd Baugh