The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964) review
Despite what Christian nationalists and prosperity gospel evangelicals led you to believe, Christ’s message spoke truth to power by criticizing the political establishment’s treatment of the downtrodden and the religious institution’s rampant gatekeeping of deep spiritual matters. Jesus taught that God belonged to everybody and for a Marxist like Pier Paolo Pasolini this was music to his ears.
Sure you can say Christ’s message wasn’t intended to be viewed like that, but He advocated for an eternal brotherhood of love, where we treat each other equally and go the extra mile to help those in need, even if it was to the detriment of the rich, the powerful, and most importantly us.
The Gospel of Matthew itself explores these themes thoroughly in the text and it’s clear why Pasolini chose the Italian Neorealism route to illustrate said themes. The genre is characterized by its urban and rustic mise-en-scène of a society in the aftermath of a drastic transition (typically a war) while highlighting the unjust economic and moral conditions of everyday people who’re oppressed, desperate, and poor - the same conditions people were living under in Roman occupied Judea. As such, it adds more power to what Pasolini is saying, for it shows us that, not unlike our own times, the rich continued to get richer and religious institutions continued to gatekeep and ignore the faithful they supposedly care about.
Furthermore, by visually downplaying Jesus’ miracles and ethereal nature, we’re left with a Jesus that’s more grounded and approachable in what he has to say or teach. Pasolini’s decision to adapt the biblical text word for word by letting the story simply speak for itself gives us a narrative anyone can relate to, regardless of religious or political affiliations. It never succumbs to any specific bias and the film is better off for it.
For all intents and purposes, it’s a spectacular film that miraculously takes its source and audience seriously. Not only is it a beautiful piece of cinema, but a rare example of a biblical drama that finally got at the heart of Christ’s mission, without the pomp or minutiae that typically define the genre. A Marxist, atheist, openly gay man rescued Christ’s divine message from religious obscurity and it’s something every person of faith should be grateful for. I know I am.
4/5
