The Body (2001)

Director:

Jonas McCord

Writers (WGA):

Richard Sapir (novel)
Jonas McCord (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 January 2001 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Chaos, unearthed.

Plot:

A crucified body dated back to the 1st century A.D is uncovered at an ancient cave in Jerusalem. Trouble ensues as word spreads.

Plot Keywords:

Jerusalem | Cave | Tomb | Skull | Helicopter

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Antonio Banderas	...	Father Matt Gutierrez
Olivia Williams	...	Sharon Golban
John Shrapnel	...	Moshe Cohen
Derek Jacobi	...	Father Lavelle
Jason Flemyng	...	Father Walter Winstead
Lillian Lux	...	Mother
John Wood	...	Cardinal Pesci
Makram Khoury	...	Nasir Hamid (as Makram J. Khoury)
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Monsignor
Ian McNeice	...	Dr. Sproul
Mohammed Bakri	...	Abu Yusef (as Muhamed Bakri)
Yoav Dekelbaum	...	Avi (as Yoav Deckelbaum)
Sami Samir	...	Achmed
Jordan Licht	...	Dorene
Limor Goldstein	...	Galic

Also Known As:

Das geheimnisvolle Grab (Germany)
The Body - Das geheimnisvolle Grab (Germany) (TV title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violent sequences and brief language.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA | Israel | Germany

Language:

English | Arabic | Hebrew

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #35768) | Finland:K-15 | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | France:U | Germany:12 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Israel

Company:

Avalanche Films

Goofs:

Continuity: When Sharon Golban is at the airport to pick up Father Matt Gutierrez, she leaves the keys in the ignition. When she returns, she takes her keys from her pocket.

Quotes:

Abu Yusef: As you said before, God has no place in politics.

When he rose from the dead,did they believe? (Bob Dylan "in the garden")

This movie has a plus side and a minus side:

-On the plus side,the fear a priest encounters when he discovers that bones found in a Jerusalem' s grave by an archaeologist might be Jesus 's ones.So if Jesus is a man,it's a whole religion which falls down;one should note that ,for that matter ,the Muslims' and the Jews ' religions stand in little danger of bringing this about.Antonio Banderas is very convincing,I do not know if the actor is a believer,but we do believe the character he portrays is.

-On the minus side,when the movie becomes a thriller (complete with kidnapping,shootings and priest becoming a superhero),it peters out.One can admit the Jews want to keep the Vatican from getting the bones,but that part is not better than a Van Damme flick.

Watch this movie anyway cause it asks disturbing questions.