Pier Paolo Pasolini is a filmmaker noted for his daringness and audacity both within his films and his life. This filming of the life of Christ is certainly both of those. This highly-moving masterpiece is one of his finest creations, a work of harmony and beauty. The reason the film works so well is its faith in images rather than sound. Pasolini conveys the beauty of the scripture through the movement of his actors and the very expressions of their faces. When they do speak, it feels true rather than contrived. Shot in Southern Italy on a low budget using the Italian Neo-realist style of non-professional actors, Pasolini creates for us the greatest portrait of Christ in the movies and a thundering statement of morality and faith.
