Colui che deve morire

"Celui qui doit mourir" (He who must die) is one of many fine films directed by Jules Dassin, who was born in 1911. At the advanced age of 93, Dassin would merit a special live tribute since he had to suffer blacklisting and was still able to direct in exile such masterpieces as "Rififi", "Never on Sunday", "Topkapi" and "He who must die". This last movie takes place in a village in Greece, occupied by the Turks, showing the different attitudes adopted by the people face to the occupant. There is a big contrast between two priests: the rigid Grigoris (interpreted by Fernand Ledoux) and the compassionate Photis (Jean Sevais, also in "Rififi"). This was also Melina Mercouri's first collaboration with her future husband, playing a proud but very human prostitute. Among the actors, mostly French, one can not avoid mentioning the late Maurice Ronet, René Lefèvre, Roger Hanin and Pierre Vaneck, whose Manolios is probably the most important character. Also Gert Fröbe, Carl Möhner and Gregoire Aslan have astounding performances. This movie probably a bit forgotten merits a release in DVD since I do not believe it is available at present in this format. It deserves the maximum qualification (10) and let us be hopeful that Dassin who was born in the US but had to emigrate to Europe will receive a recognition for such a brilliant career.

As with another comment posted here, I would note that I too saw the film, only once, way back in the sixties and the memory of it has stuck with me ever since. I have read mixed reviews of the piece which saddens me as I feel that the picture was so finely wrought and deeply moving that nothing should prevent its reaching the widest possible audience. Bad, or Luke-warm reviews can have this effect. "Celui Qui Doit Mourir" should long have been available in a first- rate DVD edition. Its tale of the lives of simple villagers coming to parallel those of the scriptural characters they enact in a Passion Play is a rich, atmospheric parable. The black and white cinematography is exquisite along with the actors' performances and all the other production values of this rare motion picture.

Let's suppose Jesus Christ returned to modern times. What would be the fate that befalls him? That is the question that the great writer Nikos Kazantzakis (1883-1957) poses in his deeply moving novel "The Greek Passion", brilliantly realized by black-listed director Jules Dassin in the film "He Who Must Die".

The story's answer to this question was not to the liking of the Greek Orthodox Church, who promptly excommunicated the author Kazantzakis, who also wrote the novels "Zorba the Greek", "The Last Temptation of Christ", and "Saint Francis", among other works. (He is rumored to have been nominated 5 times for the Nobel Prize for Literature.) This tale is about much more than a religious passion play put on in a Greek village towards the end of the 400-year Turkish occupation. In a century in which religious morality and the church's real-politics have been severely criticized, this tale hits us right between the eyes. Definite food for thought. Could the church's silence in the face of so much unspeakable evil during the 20th century be one reason that religious thought has become largely irrelevant in our daily lives (politics, business, diplomacy, etc). A solid philosophical perspective is found in Robert Boldt's brilliant review (above).

Why this film has not been released on video is totally beyond me -- a nice DVD would certainly be appreciated--especially now, when more and more of Jules Dassin's work is being restored and released (especially on the Criterion label).

The same writer wrote "last temptation of Christ" where the Savior and Mary Magdelene played prominent parts too.

Dassin was driven from his country in the wake of the witch hunt.He came to France where he made an estimable film noir " Du Rififi Chez les Hommes "(which does not cut his best American works such as " night and the city" or "brute force" )"Celui qui doit mourir is his second film in seven year ,and although it took place in Greece ,it was essentially made with French money and French actors (Pierre Vaneck,Fernand Ledoux,Maurice Ronet,Roger Hanin,Jean Servais are all first-class thespians),the only important Greek artist being Melina Mercouri (it was the first time Dassin had directed her and he was to marry her afterward).

Unfairly despised in France," he who must die" is probably Dassin's best European work.In a Greek village ,under Turkish occupation ,a bunch of refugees asks for help:they are starving and they would like to settle in the hills ,where they could clear pieces of lands which the inhabitants do not cultivate.But their priest does not agree and he tells them so :they have cholera and they could contaminate us all! In the village they get ready for a commemoration of the Passion:a shepherd will be Christ,a widow,Mary Magdelene ,some other inhabitants ,the apostles...but what's the point of this masquerade,which becomes a farce if some people are dying only a mile from your place?the "actors" take a rebel stand and they side with the refugees.Then the new "crucifixion" is around the corner.The Turks turn into some kind of Romans and their chief some Pilate who can wash his hands without tears.

God gives the stammering shepherd the power of speech.The rich young man gives all he owns to the Poor ...

NB: Joseph Dassin aka Jo Dassin ,the director's son ,who was very famous as a singer in Europa ,in the sixties/Seventies ,appears briefly as a young refugee :you can spot him in the scene when their priest tells his flock he dreamed he saw saint George last night.

I saw HE WHO MUST DIE in Edinburgh, Scotland (1957). No film relating to Jesus Christ, before or since, has had such an emotional/spiritual impact on me. Its imaginative plot (preparations made in a small Greek village for a Passion Play during the Turkish occupation of Greece) has some affinity to biblical events leading to Jesus' crucifixion. Powerful in presentation, it never gets excessively sentimental or superficial as do typical "Hollywood" religious productions, nor as sadistically brutal as Gibson's THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. I've not seen a film about Jesus, or related to Jesus, that I like, not one ... except HE WHO MUST DIE. Brilliantly conceived and executed, it is one of the finest films ever made! I wish I could find it on VHS.