Jesus of Montreal (1989) Jésus de Montréal (original title)

Director:

Denys Arcand

Writer:

Denys Arcand (writer)

Release Date:

25 May 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A group of actors put on an unorthodox, but acclaimed Passion Play which incites the opposition of the Catholic Church while the actors' lives themselves begin to mirror the Passion itself.

Plot Keywords:

Church | Passion Play | Montréal Quebec Canada | Advertisement | Christianity

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 18 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Lothaire Bluteau	...	Daniel
Catherine Wilkening	...	Mireille
Johanne-Marie Tremblay	...	Constance
Rémy Girard	...	Martin
Robert Lepage	...	René
Gilles Pelletier	...	Fr. Leclerc
Yves Jacques	...	Richard Cardinal
Cédric Noël
Pauline Martin
Véronique Le Flaguais
Jean-Louis Millette
Monique Miller
Christine-Ann Atallah
Valérie Gagné
Claude Léveillée
Paule Baillargeon
Boris Bergman
Gaston Lepage	...	Security Guard
Pascal Rollin
Marc Messier
Marcel Sabourin
Roy Dupuis	...	Marcel Brochu
Claude Blanchard	...	Policeman
Andrée Lachapelle
Denis Bouchard	...	Ambulance driver
Ron Lea
Anna-Maria Giannotti
Tom Rack
Marie-Christine Barrault	...	Dubbing actress
Judith Magre	...	Dubbing actress
Isabelle Truchon	...	Richard's Girlfriend
Michael Barnard
Serge Carrier
Daniel Lamontagne
Dominique Quesnel
Jean Marchand
Dianne Cote
Andreanne Deneault
Sylvie Drapeau
Mario Bertrand
Danielle Godin
Gisèle Trépanier
Bob Della Serra
Lisette Guertin
Danielle Lepine
Léa-Marie Cantin
Rose-Andrée Michaud
Susan Bain
Michelle Turmel
Maria Bircher
Esther Lewis
Alex Nicolas-Etienne
Paul Tana
Dean Hagopian
Jacques Lavallée
Bernard Meney
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Diane Côté
Maria Giannotti
Denys Arcand	...	The Judge (uncredited)
Barbara Arsenault	...	Jumelle Pomerleau (uncredited)
Nancy Arsenault	...	Jumelle Pomerleau (uncredited)

Directed by
Denys Arcand

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Denys Arcand		writer

Produced by
Roger Frappier	....	producer
Pierre Gendron	....	producer
Doris Girard	....	delegate producer
Monique Létourneau	....	producer
Gérard Mital	....	delegate producer
Jacques-Eric Strauss	....	delegate producer

Original Music by
Jean-Marie Benoît
François Dompierre
Yves Laferrière

Cinematography by
Guy Dufaux

Film Editing by
Isabelle Dedieu

Casting by
Lucie Robitaille

Production Design by
François Séguin

Art Direction by
François Séguin

Set Decoration by
Frances Calder
Simon La Haye

Costume Design by
Louise Jobin

Makeup Department
Cécile Rigault	....	makeup artist
Micheline Trépanier	....	makeup artist
Nathalie Trépanier	....	assistant makeup artist

Production Management
Lyse Lafontaine	....	production director

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mireille Goulet	....	assistant director

Art Department
Pierre L'Heureux	....	carpenter
Tristan Tondino	....	lead scenic artist

Sound Department
Mathieu Beaudin	....	sound effects editor
Adrian Croll	....	sound
Antoine Morin	....	sound effects editor
Marcel Pothier	....	sound effects editor
Patrick Rousseau	....	sound
Hans Peter Strobl	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Louis Craig	....	special effects supervisor
Mario Dumont	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
François Aubry	....	visual effects supervisor

Camera and Electrical Department
Sylvaine Dufaux	....	second assistant camera
Luc Laflamme	....	electrician
Nathalie Moliavko-Visotzky	....	first assistant camera

Animation Department
François Aubry	....	animation director

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mariane Carter	....	set costumer (as Marianne Carter)

Editorial Department
Claudette Duff	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Robert Stanley	....	musician: guitar

Transportation Department
Benoît Mathieu	....	driver: bus

Other crew
François Aubry	....	title designer
Marie La Haye	....	continuity
Marie La Haye	....	script girl
Bernard Lamy	....	production accountant

Production Companies

• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)
• Communication
• Gérard Mital Productions
• Max Films Productions
• National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
• Premier Choix TVEC
• Super Écran
• Téléfilm Canada

Distributors

• Cineplex Odeon Films (1989) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Artificial Eye (UK)
• Christal Films (2003) (Canada) (DVD)
• Cineplex-Odeon Home Video (1991) (Canada) (video)
• Gativideo (1990) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Koch Lorber Films (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• MCA (1991) (Canada) (video)
• Madman Entertainment (2003) (Australia) (DVD)
• Orion Classics (1990) (USA) (subtitled)
• Orion Home Video (1991) (USA) (VHS) (subtitled)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures International (1990) (Italy) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Intrigue (special effects)

Also Known As:

"Jésus de Montréal" - Canada (original title)

Runtime:

118 min | Argentina:120 min | Canada:119 min | USA:120 min

Country:

Canada | France

Language:

French | English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Peru:18

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)

Trivia:

The play in the opening scene appears to be a dramatization of the novel 'The Brothers Karamazov'. The scene filmed portrays where Smerdyakov reveals to Ivan Karamazov that he has murdered Fyodor, having been inspired by the philosophy he learned from Karamazov. Smerdyakov's suicide monologue is adapted from another part of the book - the diaries of the monk, Father Zossima.

Quotes:

René:[as Pontius Pilate] Of what are you accused?
Daniel:[as Jesus] You know that.
René:You belong to a sect? You are another prophet, is that right?
Daniel:Is that what you say? Or are you repeating what you've heard?
René:You have spoken of a kingdom that you wish to establish.
Daniel:A kingdom which is not of this world.
René:You mean a sort of Elysium? After death? Have you not preached against Caesar, for the overturning of the Roman order?
Daniel:No.
René:So... what is it that you teach to your disciples?
Daniel:Greater love hath no man than this: to give his life for his friends.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Rick & Steve the Happiest Gay Couple in All the World: Hormonally Yours (#1.6)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Quando Corpus Morietur

An awesome historical and religious "WhatIf"

What if Jesus had been born in the year 1970 instead of year 1, and as unheralded now as He was then- how would our society have dealt with Him?

And if people can get possessed by the Devil, can a regular guy -- not a nut or a fraud -- become gradually and genuinely possessed by Jesus?

Denys Arcand answers both questions in clever and entertaining fashion. With actual events, people, words and thoughts from Jesus' life being transposed to our modern times. Of course a movie like this is aimed at people who don't turn both their brain cells off as they enter the movie house, and won't be happy with 90 minutes of gunshots, car chases, or Jesus being whipped.

And yet this highly hypothetical parable still comes off as a plausible dramatic tale, with the usual Arcand mix of tragedy and comedy. You could have never heard of Jesus and still enjoy this movie.

The cinematography is gorgeous and the main actors are uniformly excellent. Some of the minor characters bother me intensely, which they are meant to do -- they're just too darn good at it.

The script and direction are nicely conventional - in the sense that at no time does the viewer wonder who that guy is or what the heck is going on. Jarring "artsy" cuts, unannounced flashbacks and weird camera angles are many critics' cup of tea but not mine, and thankfully, not Arcand's either.

There is quite a bit of tension-relieving slapstick in this story; some viewers may like it- it *is* funny, but it makes me uncomfortable at times. And the ending is a bit of an anticlimax, although at the second viewing I think I began to see the light.

I originally rated this movie 8/10, but after seeing it again I got more in tune with it and also noticed a few very clever details, so I'm upping it to 9/10. Maybe 10/10 when I see it next.