Review by Mark Greene

Good

Good

Hail Mary (1983)
Written and Directed by Jean-Luc Godard. Starring Myriem Roussel and Thierry Rode (including an 18-year old Juliette Binoche in a minor role five years before her breakthrough in "The Unbearable Lightness of Being"). Running time: 70 min. Preceded on most videos by the 25 min. short "Le Livre de Marie," also good (1985).

The Book of Life (1998)
Written and Directed by Hal Hartley. Starring Martin Donovan, P.J. Harvey, Thomas Jay Ryan, Miho Nikaido and Dave Simonds. Running time: 63 min.


Here are two good, rather short feature films that derive their story’s inspiration and basic plot outline from various writings found in the New Testament. As was the case with Scorcese’s "The Last Temptation of Christ," (1988), Godard’s "Hail Mary" was vigorously picketed around the world by conservatives who deemed the film to be an act of blasphemy suggesting that all movie-goers should be protected from the filmmaker’s heresy. Fast forward to 1998 when Hartley’s "The Book of Life" is released to hardly a raised eyebrow. How times have changed and, perhaps, become more forgiving of tinkering with stories that mean so much to so many. Or, perhaps, factions and credos have become more clearly delineated with representatives from either side not deigning to cross over even if only to condemn their counterparts in person or in writing.

In both Hartley’s "The Book of Life" and Godard’s "Hail Mary" the viewer enters the filmic experience knowing the stories are old ones yet fully expectant that new twists will be worked through according to the director’s temperament and vision. Both films are excellent examples of this process of mythopoesis, or the ongoing re-creation of story and myth.

Godard’s "Hail Mary" brings the viewer to a modern Geneva of 1983. Like many of Godard’s films from the 60’s and 70’s, "Hail Mary" tells a story through a sort of pastiche of images, sounds, and most importantly, words. I remember relishing Godard’s films while studying French in Paris and scribbling down the often wry and enigmatic declarations that came out of his characters’ mouths. Little gems like, "It's sad to fall asleep. It separates people. Even when you're sleeping together, you're all alone" or when the poet in "Breathless" is asked his life’s ambition he replies, "To become immortal, and then die."

Godard’s films often evoke feelings of being witness to philosophical deliberations of both conscious and unconscious streams of thought brought to life by pushing the limits of the cinematic medium (before digital rendering, of course). When watching his films with subtitles, this ‘hypertextual’ effect is enhanced.

In the film, Godard successfully re-presents the major events leading up to the birth of Jesus of Nazareth in a clever manner. The Archangel Gabriel, for example, arrives by airplane and is taken by taxi (driven by Joseph) to the gas station owned by Mary’s father where she works nights. Shocking, perhaps to some, are not these liberties but the choices Godard makes regarding which "facts" he leaves in his version of the story such as Mary’s virgin conception. "Hail Mary" becomes, to a large extent, a look at the confusion and desire for mutual understanding that any modern couple would deal with in their unconsummated relationship when faced with a "virgin pregnancy." As Mary says, she "does not sleep with anyone."

Hartley brings to life the tempestuous hours before the Apocalypse as 
prophesized in the Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse of John. The setting is New York City, the date, December 31, 1999. Hartley’s opening scenes are in an airport and are, I believe, a direct nod to the corresponding airport encounters in "Hail Mary." In attendance (in addition to Satan and Mary Magdalene) is the Redeemer himself, played by a slightly haggard-looking Martin Donovan sporting a tastefully chosen red tie and blazer. His haircut is perfect; too long for a J. Crew advertisement and yet short enough to suggest to any liberal believer that a no-nonsense policy will pervade during this vision of the Second Coming.

Throughout it all, Donovan, as Christ, successfully embodies and communicates the weight of his Father above. He makes it clear that being an incarnated divinity is by no means a fate that can be taken casually. Being Son, God and Man, he must contend with the inherent paradox of his existence for he is all at once beholden, omnipotent yet vulnerable.

The stylish rock-singer, P.J. Harvey, plays Mary Magdalene and Christ’s companion in what amounts to a preternatural romp through New York City in search of The Book of Life containing the Seven Seals which, when opened progressively, effectuate the Apocalypse. By positioning Mary Magdalene in this privileged role by Christ’s side, Hartley is perhaps alluding to her role in the gospels as the first to see the resurrected Christ (Mark 16:9-10). In a flash of poetic insight, it is fitting that we see her as companion, this second time around.

The highpoint of the film is its edgy, digitally-effected video look and its writing, the best of which occurs in the conversations between Satan and Christ.

Both films would do well being looped in your den during a party where wandering guests could walk in, glean some gems and then circulate back into the flow.

COPYRIGHT 2000 by Mark Greene.