The Body Movie
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Storyline
TAGLINES
Chaos, unearthed.
If this is His tomb... If this is the truth... It would change history and destroy the belief of millions
An ancient skeleton has been discovered in Jerusalem in a rich man's tomb. Colouration of the wrist and leg bones indicates the cause of death was crucifiction. other signs, include a gold coin bearing the marks of Pontius Pilate and faint markings around the skull, lead authorities to suspect that these could be the bones of Christ. Politicians, clerics, religious extremists and those using terror as a means to an end, find their beliefs and identities test while risking their lives to unearth the truth
| Antonio Banderas | Father Matt Gutierrez |
| Olivia Williams | Sharon Golban |
| John Shrapnel | Moshe Cohen |
| Derek Jacobi | Father Lavelle |
| Jason Flemyng | Father Walter Winstead |
| John Wood | Cardinal Pesci |
| Lillian Hurst | Mother |
| Makram Khoury | Nasir Hamid |
| Vernon Dobtcheff | Monsignor |
| Ian McNeice | Dr. Sproul |
| Muhamed Bakri | Abu Yusef |
| Yoav Dekelbaum | Avi |
| Sami Samir | Achmed |
| Jordan Licht | Dorene |
| Limor Goldstein | Galic |
| Jonas McCord |
5.30 out of 10 (3062 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Banderas in a credible role; In my top 10 list
posted on 27 Jun 2009The only fault I can find is the premise that Banderas is a priest and ex secret agent; that and the guy assigned to watch things has an uncontrollable urge to lean out a window when using a telephoto lens. But all movies have such flaws. I think it's great. I'd recommend it to anyone. The cast is good all around. There's not the shootout of the type in other Banderas movies or large numbers of spontaneously exploding cars. It's thought provoking and timely. On one hand, the conflict over scripture and archeology is ever-present. And the conflict over Jerusalem will be with us a long time as well. I thought this movie did justice to all sides. At the same time it showed all are human. Not easily done these days.
Religion and Politics
posted on 23 Mar 2009Well, 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.
What if... the whole Christianity is based on a lie?
posted on 07 Feb 2009This is a movie which makes you think about your own point of view about religion and belief. In my opinion it's a very realistic view on the Catholic Church and it's purposes - which are definitely not truth and salvation but power. Which is the purpose of most religions. This movie doesn't question the belief in God itself but the belief in a religion - which is a dangerous thing because they're not honest. Find your own belief, your own truth. I hope that after this movie everyone get's to this point.
A good idea, down the toilet
posted on 20 Oct 2008The Body is an example of how an interesting idea for a movie (the ideological and political implications of the discovery of the body of a crucified man that could be Jesus Christ) can go absolutely wrong. It could have made a really good movie with interesting analysis of the situation, but it is an absolute failure: The script is very bad, with meaningless and forced dialogues. The cinematography and screenplay is very bad too with a lot of repeated and uninteresting shots (no, not that city fly-by again please...) And besides the technical details, there are a lot of senseless and very cheap scenes, and a lot of absurd events (i.e., even though the Israeli authorities are very interested in the matter, sometimes there's guards around the excavation, sometimes when the storyline needs it there are none... and I could go on...) There's no rythm, there's nothing... it's like any cheap TV telefilm.The acting is quite bad too. However not as bad as the rest of the movie...All in all, it's really a pity. The movie is boring, technically flawed and very badly directed. Either if you're looking for a thriller (that's the way it's being sold) or a philosophical clip, look elsewhere. It will make quite a lot of cash though, due to the presence of Banderas and a clever marketing campaign that make the movie look really good.
Too much faith required
posted on 10 Sep 2008This movie is a boring add for agnostics. By both adapting and rejecting all kinds of religious beliefs, it fails to make any sense. The political references are equally stupid. Perhaps die hard fans of Antonio Banderas could have an appreciation of it following the plot of the archaeologist who digs him. It should be listed as a very bad comedy. The cinematography is not too bad. The intriguing sites of Jerusalem are the reason for that.
seen but not seen
posted on 16 Jul 2008This was a stunning movie --- one of the best thought-provoking movies I have seen in a long time. Yes, there were some loose ends in this movie, but the climax of the movie was not in what I saw on film, but what it represented --- what the underlying message was. I will see this movie again and recommend it to everyone!
Not a great movie, but one worth seeing
posted on 08 Jun 2008I'd never heard of this movie, happened across it on HBO one night, happily. Other reviewers say there are problems with the movie, moments of supreme illogic, and they're right. Like that the dig site wouldn't have better security. Except they cover that in the movie, the security is co-opted by various political types. There should have been gazillions of priests, not just Antonio Banderas. They should have sent a priest who knew archeology, they had one in Derek Jacobi and he was driven nuts. There should have been gazillions of archeologists, not just one pretty widow. This wouldn't have been an easy secret to keep.That said, the Antonio Banderas' character's journey is interesting, well told, makes the movie one to see. Faith and the lack of it, politics and religion is a potent mix and make this a movie that is worth watching.
I'm not too sure...
posted on 31 May 2008* * * SPOILER * * *See, the thing with me is that I'm a film student, so I watch the films for storylines, technical aspects, etc. But, I'm also female, young and shallow enough to watch a film for the actors, even when it looks slightly less than brilliant. That was the case with 'The Body', and I'm sticking by my first view. Aesthetically, it's great. Antonio Banderas is gorgeous, and certain aspects of the cinematography were spot on. But now we come to the storyline... it's a wonderful premise.An archaeologist finds a body which is seemingly that of Jesus Christ. If it WAS him, it would disprove the whole Resurrection thing and bring the whole Christian world into chaos, so the Vatican sends a priest (Mr Banderas) to investigate. As I said, fantastic premise. They could have made a really powerful film based on that, bringing in all the religious and scientific elements such a discovery would have... only it sort of falls flat.Antonio Banderas is a magnificent actor, especially in his earlier Spanish films, and anything that Derek Jacobi agrees to be in is usually fine by me. On the whole, the acting is good, but they struggle with the dire script, and are overshadowed by the sporadic explosions and terrorist attacks which occur often enough to seem important, but are never fully realised so they almost seem like add-ons.It's not terrible, but I've definitely seen better. It's all right when there's nothing else on and you've watched half the contents of Blockbuster... and when you're a rabid Antonio fan, of course. 6/10
not just a religious movie
posted on 01 Dec 2007I disagree with whoever said it was just another religious movie. I found it a thought-provoking and very sensibly handled storyline, and well acted. From a religious student's point of view it illustrated the fear and loathing that is rife in the world today. And no, I am not religious - just a student of Humanities and Religion. Maybe open-mindedness is what is needed to appreciate this movie for what it was intended to be.
When he rose from the dead,did they believe? (Bob Dylan "in the garden")
posted on 22 Oct 2007This movie has a plus side and a minus side:-On the plus side,the fear a priest encounters when he discovers that bones found in a Jerusalem' s grave by an archaeologist might be Jesus 's ones.So if Jesus is a man,it's a whole religion which falls down;one should note that ,for that matter ,the Muslims' and the Jews ' religions stand in little danger of bringing this about.Antonio Banderas is very convincing,I do not know if the actor is a believer,but we do believe the character he portrays is.-On the minus side,when the movie becomes a thriller (complete with kidnapping,shootings and priest becoming a superhero),it peters out.One can admit the Jews want to keep the Vatican from getting the bones,but that part is not better than a Van Damme flick.Watch this movie anyway cause it asks disturbing questions.
interesting movie: writings on the stone
posted on 11 May 2007Actually it is quite an interesting movie. Though in the end I was surprised to notice (2nd watch) the writings on the stone in the tomb as it is blown away. Thus David is the son of the man who erected this tomb and not Jesus ...I thought that this was really the tomb of JC... It reminds me of the movie STIGMATA .... similar in thought though better I would say.Any comments to this ? Especially the stone.I loved Banderas, O.Williams was also OK. I just realized that she acted in the 6th sense. She has an interesting kind of beauty ...Actually it is quite an interesting movie. Though in the end I was surprised to notice (2nd watch) the writings on the stone in the tomb as it is blown away. Thus David is the son of the man who erected this tomb and not Jesus ...I thought that this was really the tomb of JC... It reminds me of the movie STIGMATA .... similar in thought though better I would say.Any comments to this ? Especially the stone.I loved Banderas, O.Williams was also OK. I just realized that she acted in the 6th sense. She has an interesting kind of beauty ...
Prepare to question your faith! Or at least to be slightly titillated.
posted on 04 Feb 2007Okay, I admit it, I enjoy movies and ideas that "shake the cage" of religious orthodoxy, which was what brought me to this movie in the first place. I never heard of it on its first release -- did it *get* a general release in America? -- but saw it on HBO the other evening. I won't recount the plot, that's for other parts of this Website. But on a very basic level, the movie is not so much about an archealogical find that may shatter the very basis of the Christian religion, as it is about what it takes to destroy one's faith. Surprisingly, Banderas made a believable priest. Olivia Williams made a convincing archaelogist, I suppose (although I'd like that confirmed by someone with more than just one college-level archaeology class under their belt), but her very proper English accent was much more London than Jerusalem -- was she actually supposed to be have been Israeli? The locations were well chosen. The movie was filmed exclusively (?) is Israel and Rome, and the authentic locations really helped make it a pleasure to look at. One complaint: Since we know and understand that 85% of the movie takes place in Jerusalem, do we really need 42 establishing shots of the Old City? About two-thirds of the way in, the story descends from its intellectually exciting premise into another Middle Eastern Western, if that's not nonsensical. Without giving too much away (MINOR SPOILER), the film ends with Banderas and Williams being taken to hospital with multiple shrapnel wounds. But aside from quite lot of small arms fire, there's only about three major explosions, so if that's your draw to a movie, you won't like this. Recommended to those who enjoy the questioning of authority, Conventional Wisdom, and religious orthodoxy.
A boring movie with pathetic performances
posted on 04 Dec 2006What can be said about this movie? A bore would be appropriate. This movie lacks everything from a good screenplay to a gifted direction. Performances were bellow average, specially the one by Antonio Banderas. I was ashamed to see him acting in such a poor way. One advice about this movie: BEWARE!
Very Dissapointing
posted on 27 Oct 2006The Body is a boring movie that attempts to join the new trend of movies that tackle the issue of religion and the anti-christ, christ-related stories ..etc This movie fails greatly. The story is quite stupid and naive. A priest leaves to Jerusalem, on a secret mission, to investigate the discovery of a body, a discovery that threats the whole Christian faith. Banderas, in his worst movie to date, fails to deliver. What we get instead is: Stupid action scenes, a boring "love story" that doesn't fit in the movie, and whats even more sarcastic is that the movie attempts to send a Political message that "Religion has no Place in Politics". Well I have two advises. One: Let the cast of this movie watch "Stigmata". Two: "This Body has no place in my Movie Library". Plain Rubbish 0/10
A Pleasant Surprise.
posted on 07 Oct 2006(spoilers)with the bad reviews I would have thought this movie is your standard crap movie. Surprise. It isn't. It's fairly decent. Good acting all around. Probably more sincere than say Stigmata.in the end, hey it wasn't him, but it certainly kept me sweating with thoughts of what if's through out the movie. The only weak part is the explanation of the prayer towards the end. Was the prayer a fake or was it the missing prayer. But anyway, it was a good watch and Antonio and Olivia is in it.8/10Quality: 7/10 Entertainment: 9/10 Replayable: 5/10
A very good effort for being filmed on site
posted on 27 Sep 2006Once again Antonio Banderas shows us he can act well. I mark the film 9 out of 10, especially given the risks run by all those involved in making this film on site, in Jerusalem. I am staggered that the film could be made in Jerusalem at all, with all the differing Christian, Jewish and Palestinian groups and splinter groups so well depicted, if fictionalised in their representation. The violent scenes may not drip the blood of a Tarantino movie but it is enough to convey the "to the death" intolerance of each other that so shamefully characterise so many of these groups and splinter groups today. The actors and the script show the intensity of so many who refuse to acknowledge/accept the rights of the others - to their differing faith, or even to exist. The film brilliantly reminds us of how these groups and splinter groups lose sight of the essential truth of their own faith/belief system in their violent intolerance of the other. This is the key to facing the stark reality of the intractability of the various players in the Middle East which the film so well depicts. Especially it underlines these groups and splinter groups' willingness to misuse/abuse: the innocent trying simply to live peacefully with their families; the combatants' own faith/followers; as well as that of those they oppose. The tragedy of the Middle East is that, I believe, the same fate would befall the ancient prophets of these faiths, were they alive today, as befell them centuries/millennia ago. The religiously-intolerant attacks by some on this film simply demonstrate how correct this belief is. The actors, film director and all those others involved in making this film deserve congratulations for their courage in making it on site - despite the risks to themselves from the intolerant.Greyollie, Canberra, Australia.
A movie without any substance
posted on 08 Aug 2006It´s disappointing. The script is very thin but Antonio Banderas makes the difference or saves the film from the complete disaster. The film hits a very interesting subject but the director couldn´t pack it in a suspenseful thriller. It´s paced too slowly and the spectator risks to fall asleep. In fact this film hasn´t been shown in our theatres so it seems to be more a TV-movie. There could have been more. Fortunately i only rent it and i highly recommend you don´t waste your money and your time. I gave only 4/10.
A Nutshell Review: The Body (DVD, 2001)
posted on 02 Aug 2006The 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.
Antonio Banderas is the best thing...
posted on 29 Jul 2006about this movie. To really get this movie, I think you need to understand the history of the bible and the various religions depicted in this movie. Since I'm not a religious buff, a lot of it didn't make to much sense to me. The story was OK, but there is not a lot of action, and it is slow at times. The acting is the best aspect in the movie.FINAL VERDICT: It is OK, but not good enough to go out and rent.
Complex Problem - Good Film
posted on 27 Jul 2009I found the movie to deal with a complex problem involving three faiths. I think it did so very well. If a body was found now, would it ever become public? I doubt it, for the same reasons set out in the movie. Yes, the movie overly simplifies all the faiths involved, and the politics of the existing situation. But if it did not do so the movie would be days long. I was impressed with Banderas' performance. Think about a priest having his faith challenged by this. That Jacobi would commit suicide demonstrates the hardship of a loss of faith. Again, it is a movie that does not appeal to all people, especially because it deals with really hard issues, on which I am not an expert. But I thought it was well done.