"He Who Must Die", despite its title, is not some sort of film noir or action movie. On the contrary, it's a fascinating religious allegory that slowly but surely catches your attention. I thoroughly enjoyed it and felt it had some nice similarities to another excellent film, "Jesus of Montreal".
The film is set in Greece at the very end of the Turkish occupation. It begins with a village being destroyed and the remnants of the town leaving to find a new home.
The scene abruptly changes to another Greek town. This one is content and well-fed--and on friendly terms with the Turks. They also are planning on their passion play--a huge extravaganza that is held every seven years. Instead, however, of trying out for parts, the Priest and the council pick who they think should be in the play. Oddly, they announce several of the key roles (such as Jesus, John, James, Peter, Judas and Mary Magdelene) but not the full cast. Over the course of the film, the cast members slowly begin to change--to, in effect, become more and more like their parts in real life. And all this is set into motion when the bedraggled townspeople at the beginning of the film show up looking for some food and land...and the council and priest of the prosperous village cruelly drive them off and give them nothing. There are so many parallels to the life and crucifixion of Christ that they aren't worth discussing--it's something you need to see unfold for you. This movie is beautiful and full of wonderful symbolism. In addition, the message is wonderful--as are the parallels between Christ and modern times. A must see for anyone wanting to see a wonderful film--whether you are a Christian or not. Terrific, well acted and directed and hard not to love.
By the way, this French language film was directed by the blacklisted American director, Jules Dassin--one of the best directors of his age. He did NOT really understand French but still managed to make one of his best and most unheralded movies here. Just a few of the amazingly good films to see that he directed (and sometimes wrote) are "Rififi", "Thieves' Highway", "Naked City", "Brute Force" and "Night and the City". His wife (they married in 1966), Melina Mercouri, played Mary Magdelene in "He Who Must Die".
The film is set in Greece at the very end of the Turkish occupation. It begins with a village being destroyed and the remnants of the town leaving to find a new home.
The scene abruptly changes to another Greek town. This one is content and well-fed--and on friendly terms with the Turks. They also are planning on their passion play--a huge extravaganza that is held every seven years. Instead, however, of trying out for parts, the Priest and the council pick who they think should be in the play. Oddly, they announce several of the key roles (such as Jesus, John, James, Peter, Judas and Mary Magdelene) but not the full cast. Over the course of the film, the cast members slowly begin to change--to, in effect, become more and more like their parts in real life. And all this is set into motion when the bedraggled townspeople at the beginning of the film show up looking for some food and land...and the council and priest of the prosperous village cruelly drive them off and give them nothing. There are so many parallels to the life and crucifixion of Christ that they aren't worth discussing--it's something you need to see unfold for you. This movie is beautiful and full of wonderful symbolism. In addition, the message is wonderful--as are the parallels between Christ and modern times. A must see for anyone wanting to see a wonderful film--whether you are a Christian or not. Terrific, well acted and directed and hard not to love.
By the way, this French language film was directed by the blacklisted American director, Jules Dassin--one of the best directors of his age. He did NOT really understand French but still managed to make one of his best and most unheralded movies here. Just a few of the amazingly good films to see that he directed (and sometimes wrote) are "Rififi", "Thieves' Highway", "Naked City", "Brute Force" and "Night and the City". His wife (they married in 1966), Melina Mercouri, played Mary Magdelene in "He Who Must Die".