Le Tombeau

God has no place in politics—this is the theme of The Body, an interesting film, if not a particularly 'entertaining' one.

Antonio Banderas plays Father Matt Gutierrez, a priest sent by the Vatican to investigate the discovery of a tomb in Jerusalem, which may or may not contain the crucified remains of Christ. Gutierrez has been given instructions by the Vatican to declare that the remains are not those of Christ; but with all of the evidence suggesting otherwise, the priest must struggle with facing the fact that his religion may be founded on a lie, and that, perhaps, Jesus was never resurrected.

Questioning his faith is only the beginning of Gutierrez's problems: Orthodox Jews, angry at the tomb being disturbed, attack the archaeologists; the Israelis blackmail the Vatican, only offering to hand over the body if the Vatican recognises Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel; and the Palestinians, who get wind of Israel's plan and are naturally displeased, kidnap the children of sexy archaeologist Sharon Golban (Olivia Williams), forcing her into stealing the bones.

The movie, shot on location in Jerusalem, has beautiful cinematography and great acting from Banderas and Williams, but the complicated plot may cause many viewers to lose interest. Those with a particular interest in the subject matter will probably glean the most from this rather long and intricate tale, but I can imagine the casual viewer quickly becoming bored.

If you choose to watch this, I recommend that you stick it out to the end; you may not be riveted to the screen but, like me, you might learn a little about a fascinating subject.

Palestinian shopkeeper Nasir Hamid was just trying to dig a basement.

Jewish archaeologist Dr. Sharon Golban enters the cave and makes an amazing discovery. Diplomat Moshe Cohen calls Father Lavelle to investigate, and Lavelle comes out of the cave looking positively stunned.

Only poor men were crucified. And in all of recorded history, only one crucified man has been buried in a rich man's tomb. The Vatican must get involved. Father Matt Gutierrez, formerly in military intelligence, is selected to do his own investigation.

What if it really is Jesus? This could mean the end of Christianity. Meanwhile, Palestinians want to claim all of Jerusalem as their capital. The discovery only adds to the tension in the city. If this is a hoax, perhaps it is because someone wanted to start a war over the city.

Antonio Banderas did a fine job of showing a man whose faith is tested. Some important questions about faith were raised, including Jewish attitudes toward disturbing the dead. Other than that, this film was nothing really special. I thought Olivia Williams (as Sharon), Derek Jacobi (as Lavelle) and John Shrapnel (as Cohen) all did a good job.

There was some humor here. Sharon's crazy driving, for example. Violence was minor for the most part.

It surely isn't "The Da Vinci Code" (which I have only heard about), but this is a film that can make people think.

For a Christian, the main interest is about the question. The doubt. The Resurrection as root of his faith. And, in this sense, the film does a well job. Because, it propose a clash, proofs from a tomb, expectations and, without be the most ispired constructed, the end is the only reasonable. A film proposing a challenge. Not in the best form but acceptable.

Well, an Israeli widow, Olivia Williams, uncovers a hidden tomb in Jerusalem, and there is some suggestion that it might be that of Christ. This causes a considerable stir in the Vatican because, after all, Christ's body shouldn't be there unless he was an ordinary man. So they send Father Antonio Banderas down there to investigate, telling him ahead of time, so that he doesn't misunderstand his mission, that "the body is not that of Christ."

Banderas and Williams form at first a kind of mismatched cop/buddy team, he instense and inhibited, she breezily outgoing and scientific. But they soon run into trouble that pulls them together in their goals. I admit I didn't understand all of the reasons why so many groups wanted to interfere with the investigation or to exploit the find for political purposes. The first trouble they run into is an orthodox Jewish sect whose members bombard them with rocks and steal an important artifact. Then there is the leader of a Palestinian group, the PLO, I mean the FLP, or rather the PDQ. He wants his henchmen to get their hands on the bones. I forget why but I'm sure the purpose is nefarious. You can tell because he's got a face on him like the assassin in Hitchcock's "The Man Who Knew Too Much." And you can identify his thugs when you see them because they're all swarthier than everybody else. The head Israeli honcho in this business, Shrapnel, informs the Vatican that as soon as Jerusalem is recognized as the sole capital of a united country, the bones will be released. (I understood that.) This all leads to a final semi-violent confrontation between the PDQ leader and the priest, in which the latter is wounded and the former is blown to smithereens. Oh, that reminds me, there is some comic relief from a sloppy young Irish priest who is a computer hacker. The question of whose body it is, is resolved at the end, but nobody in the movie finds out about it, only the viewer. Father Banderas resigns his commission and decides to follow God in his own way. He writes a very nice letter to Williams, but the movie stops short of having them fall into each other's arms. Let's not disturb anybody by raising REAL problems. (Are we going to observe Shabbat? How are we going to raise the kids?)

The photography is okay, and it's an interesting exploration of modern Israel and the political and ethnic maelstrom that it is, while at the same time much less didactic than "Exodus," which might have been called "Zionism for Dummies." The acting is better than one might expect. Antonio Banderas has a sympatico appearance. He exudes sincerity in this part. And he's not a bad actor, the kind of ordinary man who engages us without being particularly glamorous, the way some European actors like Jean-Louis Trintignant or Jean Moreau do. Olivia Williams isn't quite as convincing but she is very sexy and appealing, and looks the part of a 30-ish practical-minded Israeli woman, worn but warm. She almost, but not quite, gives Banderas some chicken soup one night. The musical score sounds like it's from a stock library somewhere, from a file labeled "Suspense music." Shrapnel looks the part of the Israeli honcho too. He sounds uncannily like Paul Stewart.

This isn't a puzzle that I find particularly interesting, although I don't know why. Religious belief leads so regularly to violence and intrigue. But I don't really think that if a body were positively identified as Christ's it would change things very much. Cognitive dissonance theory suggests that, if anything, it would strengthen our beliefs in some way. (Cf., "When Prophecy Fails.") The problem would at least be papered over somehow. I'm happy that I watched it, I suppose, if only because of Olivia Williams and Antonio Banderas, both of whom are worth watching, for somewhat different reasons, but in fact I did spend two hours following this complicated story and may just be reducing post-decision dissonance.

The premise of this movie seemed interesting enough, although to some, it might be blasphemy. What if one day, the body (or rather, skeletal remains) of Christ was discovered in a similarly described tomb, with tell tale signs of the crucification, the spear wound, injuries inflicted by the crown of thorns, and the tomb dating back to 1 AD? This film looks at the possible destruction of the faith which hinges on the one man's resurrection as God. Olivia Williams plays an Israeli Sharon Golban, who discovers this body in a tomb she excavates. Suspecting she could be on to something big, she calls for a priest to confirm her suspicion. Soon, word gets around, rumours get spread. The Vatican dispatches one of their priests, Father Gutierrez (played by Antonio Banderas), and ex-military intelligence officer, to investigate and proof or disproof the claim.

While science points to the fact that the body may be that of Christ, it gives a chilling insight into what could make, or break, a religion. Is it blind faith that keeps it going, even if there should come a day when science can ultimately disproof certain theories and events? Here, discovering that body has serious implications because of the repercussions that the major event in Christ's life have on Christians. But what diluted this film from its primary premise is the introduction of Hollywood subplots to jazz up production, like having the Vatican embroiled in political intrigue, and having terrorist organizations taking an interest in the findings as well.

It's a relatively low budgeted production, but one which raised thought provoking questions even if the delivery somehow got distracted in attempts to become a bigger movie in terms of action sequences. I think this film probably would be a good prologue to the controversies that surround next year's Da Vinci Code.

Code 1 DVD contains "special features", but nothing out of the ordinary besides the usual trailers, audio, and scene selections.