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In an attempt to present the figure of Jesus, the first difficulty fell upon the
parish priest. He needed to convince a good actor by the name of Mr. Daniel
Coloumbe to gather a group of talented theatre artists and then come up with a
play about Jesus’ life. Then the aforementioned main actor first found it
challenging when he painstakingly looked for the appropriate cast of characters.
And among his daunting task was to come up with as many data as possible
surrounding the historical Jesus of Nazareth. In one scene of the movie, the
librarian noticed Daniel making comprehensive research about Jesus. But then she
eventually told him “He will find you!” The Jesus whom he and his co-actors were
attempting to present to the people was quite elusive to them since he is neither a
church-man nor a truly devoted Christian. Therefore, looking for details
surrounding Jesus was overwhelming. Moreover, considering the fact that he still
needed to find the right persons who will fit the role, he took great effort in
convincing fellow actors to accept the offer. He succeeded, albeit with a lot of
effort put into it. But then, the challenge of really coming up with a good script
that would not only satisfy their artistic cravings and standards but one that could
also entertain the spectators was also tasking. Finally, after having completed a
worthy script, they presented it to some people. And then there was the parish
priest who tried to regulate the script since he was concerned of the doctrinal
orthodoxy of the play’s message. Such were the challenges in interpreting the
figure of Jesus.
In the movie, when the actors presented the figure of Jesus, they used various
sources that they thought were useful. One was extra-biblical and, presumably,
biblical writings that Daniel, with the help of the librarian, researched in the library.
In this research work, he spotted some icons or works of art that connected with
Jesus Christ. These were quite useful for the actors in coming up with the plot,
costumes, and actions. More concretely, the painting of the crucified Jesus, which
Daniel found in the library, was the figure that he employed in presented the
crucified Jesus. Another source was an existing script, whose playwright was the
parish priest, and was patterned after orthodox Christian teachings. This particular
script did not suit to the taste of the artists since, for them, it was a bit outdated
and less engaging. Finally, there was the archaeological discovery that Daniel
managed to know of from a certain fellow. It tells about Jesus as being the son of a
Roman Legion named Panthera (Jesus bar Panthera). This particular source was
given much importance by the actors that they included this in their script, to the
dismay of the parish priest. All these sources were employed by the actors to come
up with their original and appealing script but indeed controversial. The particular
detail that Jesus was the son of the Roman legion was abhorred by the parish
priest because of it was not in harmony with the orthodox Catholic teachings about
Jesus.
In their good intention to present Jesus to the expectant crowd, the priest and
the actors needed to face some of their own issues. These issues were concerning
their own worthiness and Christian faith. First of all, the parish priest had to face
his own Ecclesiastical authorities because he needed some boost in order to
impress them. He was also having an illicit affair with one of the lady-characters of
the play. This woman, knowing of her own sinfulness, was indeed trying to face
herself with respect to her role in the upcoming play about Christ. Daniel came to
know this sad fact, of course. In addition, one was an actor who did some voice-
overs in pornographic flicks; another one was reluctant to participate in anything
connected to religiosity since he himself was struggling in this particular area;
another was a daring advertisement model who was hooked in an illicit relationship
with her manager-boyfriend and was practically a woman ‘of the world’. When she
decided to accept the role, her boyfriend needed to face the furious opposition of
her boyfriend, who desperately tried to discourage her by telling her she was only
good insofar as she had a ‘great ass’. Daniel also had to deal with his own
temperament.
End