best movie i've ever seen.

Absolutely Brilliant!

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The Body is based on a book. Like all screenplays it will have much in common & differences. Father Matt is a Jesuit, & experienced the horrors of war. He has faith, a Doctorate in Roman History, & is an experienced investigator. Sent on a mission by the Vatican, assured its just a body. The archaeologist, a Jewish woman, Sharon, is more like your typical liberal, religious only on a holiday. She can't believe anyone would complain about her publishing papers on the find. She even feels she a Dominican Scholar like herself would approve, only that Scholar can't cope & jumps to his death in a state of despair. Much happens, & faith is all remains, either the body is Christ, or a man whose mother prayed her son would have a home with God. Just as your mother probably prays for you. Either way, Father Matt knows it is not Christ, however he does leave Rome, maybe no longer a priest, but still a Man of God. The music is beautiful & it is shot in the Holy Lands, that in itself deserves to be watched. Lastly Banderas is mildly understated, as a Priest who has seen war would be.

The Body is a film beginning with an Israeli archaeologist named Sharon Golban (played by Olivia Williams) who discovers a hidden tomb in Jerusalem with bones that could possibly be those of Jesus Christ. The Vatican sends Father Matt Gutierrez (played by Antonio Banderas) with the sole purpose of proving that the bones do not belong to Christ. I first watched The Body a few years ago for a biblical traditions class, and didn't understand the concepts very well. I simply watched the movie with eyes for entertainment rather than learning, and in terms of religion, I couldn't fully grasp the consequences of what would happen if a person found the bones of Jesus Christ. However, after taking another religion of world religions, I was able to understand the second time when I watched The Body, why so many various groups were affected by this one possible discovery. This movie dives deep into the issue of issue of faith, especially the faith of Father Matt Gutierrez, who struggles between this duty to the Vatican and his duty to God and his beliefs. Watching this film, I also learned a great deal more about Christianity, as it focused a great deal on the details of Christ's death, as the gospels had stated. What I loved the most about the film was that it didn't just focus on the effects of the discovery on only Christians, but also brought in the viewpoints and backgrounds of Judaism and Islam; also not focusing only on the effect religiously, but also politically and scientifically, explaining various points about archaeology and evidence. In The Body, the effects of the discovery of bones that were possibly those of Christ's were not only explored in groups, but with individuals themselves. For Father Matt Gutierrez, he was forced to question whether he consistently denied the possibility of the bones being Christ's, due to the Vatican stressing the need to stand by that belief or if it was due to his own personal beliefs and faith. The film also connects to the present ongoing battle between Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the fight for control over the Holy Land. One of the main problems that I had about the film was that although throughout the film, new questions constantly began to rise, by the end of the film, most of those questions had gone unanswered, leaving me with many new unanswered questions. When the film ends, I am still greatly questioning the background and origins behind the bones found by the archaeologist. Overall however, The Body was a film that was both educational and entertaining to watch. Not only did it present an interesting and capturing story plot, but I learned a great deal more about several religions, like Judaism, Islam, and especially Christianity, the many conflicts that arise from a possible discovery of the bones of Christ, and finally the internal struggles that individuals are presented with regarding their faith and what they believe.

I guess I go against the grain here. I thought this was a rather good movie.Essentially, it's a film about a conspiracy to hide -- for political reasons (including politics within the various religions) -- what may be the discovery of the tomb and remains of Jesus. The film highlights the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (all sides of the conspiracy believe the remains could give them an upper hand in the conflict), and the central point of Christendom -- the resurrection of Jesus Christ.The movie follows a rather modern priest (Banderas), appointed by the Vatican to investigate an archaeologic finding by an Iraeli scientist (Olivia Williams), which MAY be the remains of Jesus Christ. Banderas's mission brings his faith into question, and the situation creates a political crisis between Palestinian and Israeli power groups. And, of course, the findings could bring into question basic premises on which Christianity is built. All involved are in danger! Several of the strengths of the film include believable characters well portrayed, aerial photography that gives one a better idea of the Jerusalem region, and a plot that is believable.This was the first film I ever really took notice of Antonio Banderas, and I have come to enjoy many of his performances, as a result, both those before and after this film.One of the best supporting roles in this film went to Derek Jacobi, playing the older priest/archaeologist.A negative here is that the transfer to DVD by Columbia-TriStar was not first rate, although it is mostly noticeable only during darker scenes, and is certainly not bad enough to ruin the enjoyment of the film.One caveat. If you don't have a basic knowledge about Christianity, this movie will go right over your head. Perhaps that is one of the reasons this film gets a lower rating than I would have expected.

**SPOILERS** Complicated religious thriller involving the finding of the remains, or bones, of a man who was crucified around the time of Jesus. The facts that the remains were found, under Nasir Hamid's hardware shop, in a discovered underground tomb in Jerusalem made it a political hot potato for everyone involved: The Vatican the Palestinians and Israelis.The film "The Body" has the Vatican send Father Matt Gutierrez to Jerusalem in order to keep the discovery from seeing the light of day in the fear if in fact it is Jesus' remains it will shake the very foundations of the Catholic Church: The death and resurrection of Christ! The Israelis under the guise of Israeli top official Moshe Cohen use the discovery for their own political purposes! Cohen want to use the bones to pressure the Vatican to recognize a united Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state of Israel! As for the Palestinians they have the most to lose. The fact that they may well end up behind the eight ball by having the Vatican and the entire Christian world leave them out in the cold by disenfranchising them from their claim that Jerusalem is their, not Israel's, capital.Getting in touch with the Israeli archaeologist Sharon Golban in charge of determining if the bones are genuine Father Matt, a former intelligence officer in El Salvador before he became a priest, becomes more and more convinced, as the evidence mounts, that they are that of Jesus! Going against his superiors- Cardinal Pesci-wishes Father Matt is now in danger of not only being defrocked but losing his faith in the church, and religion, that's saved him from a life of guilt, in what he did back in El Salvador, and misery!The movie has Palestine radical Abu Yosef use every mean at his disposal to keep the truth of the discovery of Jesus' remains, if that's what they are, from being used by the Israeli Government to its advantage: The recognition by the Vatican in a united Jerusalem as Israel's capital! Father Matt in trying to prove, as ordered by Cardinal Pesci, that the bones are not that of Jesus soon realizes that he's being used as a pawn by the Vatican for its political not religious purposes.****SPOILERS*** The movie ends on a bittersweet note in that we never find out the truth of the mysterious remains found in Jerusalem because their destroyed, together with himself, by a wild eyed and insane Abu Yosef. Abu who had his followers kidnap Sharon's two children in order for her to gives the bones to him, for safe keeping, broke his word to Nasir Hamid who was blackmailed by him to kidnap them. This set off a chain of events that lead to not only the bones being destroyed but Father Matt quiting the Catholic Church, as a priest, and ending up seeking God and Jesus in his own personal way. A way in which faith in God not the politics of man guides him.