Jesus-Legenden: Maria Magdalena

I found that the Mary Magdalene film was quite inspiring. It was probably one of the best portrayals of Mary Magdalene and John the Baptist I have ever seen. The characters were so down to earth and real. People that you could relate to. The artistic license was great in the movie also. Even though we don't know much about her, the movie wasn't made to be far fetched. It was awesome.

There are exactly 12 lines in the Bible that mention Mary Magdalene by name. She is said to have had 7 demons cast out of her by Jesus and to have helped fund His ministry. She was also present at the Crucifixion, along with Mary the Mother, and the first apostle Jesus appeared to after His Resurrection. She was asked by Jesus to take a message to the rest of His followers. That's it. That's the extent of what we "officially" know about Mary from Magdala.

Pope Gregory preached a sermon in the late 6th century that merged Mary Magdalene with two other biblical characters: an unnamed "sinful woman" in the gospel of Luke who anoints Jesus' feet with perfume poured from an alabaster jar and dries them with her hair, and Mary of Bethany, the sister of Jesus' friend Lazarus whom he raised from the dead. So common misbelief is that Mary was a repentant prostitute, when in reality she was most likely Jesus' closest apostle.

Raffaele Mertes' 1999/2000 film takes Mary's 12 lines in the Bible and elaborates on them to create a very beautiful, if not historically interesting story. Like with most Bible based films, artistic liberties need to be taken to create a full length movie. "Maria Maddalena" is no exception.

Former Bond girl Maria Grazia Cucinotta makes a wonderful Mary Magdalene, not just physically, but her acting as well. The character she is given to work with is a very angry, revenge hungry woman, set out to avenge her divorce and brutal rape at the hands of Roman guards. Cucinotta's Mary just wants to be loved. She has been betrayed by men and her anger is really the result of hurt. She does an amazing job showing the audience her plea for love using her very expressive eyes. On a personal note, Cucinotta has become my favorite Magdalene in the movies.

The interesting twist to this film, is Mary's connection with Herodias and John the Baptist. No Biblical or historical source has ever linked Mary to the other two, but in film form, it makes for a very beautiful story.

Benjamin Sadler's John the Baptist has now become my favorite interpretation of the character on film. He is the "wild man" we tent to associate with him, without going over the top. He is also VERY compassionate, asking Mary questions of her, not for his knowledge, but for her. He has a kindness in his face and demeanor that I have never seen in the Baptist before. It made knowing the outcome of his fate all the harder.

While I don't recommend using this film as the sole basis for your beliefs about Mary Magdalene, it is in no was a waste of time. I thoroughly enjoyed the film. The version I saw, as part of the "Close to Jesus" DVD set, Was partially filmed in English, but dubbed throughout. I'm NOT a fan of dubbing, but it didn't bother me in this film.

Incidentally, "Maria Maddalena" is part of a Biblical trilogy, also containing "Giuda" (Judas) and "Tommaso" (Thomas). The brilliant thing about these three films, is that the same actors play the same roles in all three films, each told from a different point of view. All three movies al available on DVD here in the USA, in the "Close to Jesus" 4 disc set, the 4th film being "Giuseppe di Nazareth" (Joseph of Nazareth), and earlier work by director Raffaele Mertes.

Many films have been made on Mary Magdalene, and they all happen to be interesting, although they are all just speculations. No one really knows anything about her, the accounts of her in the gospels are confused, and the result of her undeniable but utterly debatable role in the life of Jesus has turned her into an inexhaustible legend, some even suggesting she was Jesus' wife and had a child with him, while it is also absolutely undeniable that she was a woman of doubtful reputation. One of the best films speculating in her topsy-turvy life was "The Cross and the Sword" with Yvonne de Carlo, and this film must have been inspired partly by that one, since that one already suggested she was involved with the Romans. Here she has two Roman lovers, and the second is no one less than Vitellius, who ended up a Roman emperor after the chaos that followed on Nero's death. All the characters in the film are astoundingly convincing, and especially Vitellius makes a very realistic impression - as an emperor he was a realist. Every character is brilliantly represented by actors doing more than well, among whom some should be especially noted, like the buffoon Herod Antipas, here a ridiculous caricature entirely in the claws of his passionate wife Olympias, perhaps the best actress of the film, and John the Baptist is extremely palpable as a character, totally different from Charlton Heston and Robert Ryan. Salome here is also a highlight with her dance of the veils, something totally different from the performance of Rita Hayworth in the same fix, while Maria Grazia Cucinetta as Mary makes a complex and very female portrait, probably the best Mary Magdalene ever, and at least the most convincing. Even Jesus is good and convincing, always an impossibly difficult role to make convincing, but here he succeeds as well as Robert Powell. The story above all is very well written with consistently pertinent dialog, the realism is without flaws, and the music, which flows soothingly throughout the film adds to the good impression. This is a film to love for its beauty, its humanity, its very individualistic characters and its general architecture - this must be one of the best Biblical films, the more impressive for being just conjecture, but excellently well carried through.

it is not only a religious movie but, in same measure, a beautiful film. for acting, for the new image of Mary - not close by Bible testimony but interesting for a credible story -, for music and landscapes. and, sure, for Maria Grazia Cucinotta who has the admirable science to use her beauty for give nuances and force and light to the lead character in wise manner. a character who becomes alive for her purpose, her expectations, her faith. in same measure, Benjamin Sadler gives a new John the Baptist , different by other versions of Jesus story. and without be better or an error, that fact is real useful. a beautiful film about the roots of an important member of Christ's circle. far by Dan Brown's universe but , for this fact, interesting.