Gospel According to St. Matthew (L'Evangile Selon St. Matthieu, France)

Dir: Pasolini This French version of the poster for The Gospel According to St. Matthew effectively captures the film’s Italian neo-realist aesthetic. It centers on a pivotal moment in the arrest of Jesus: Judas’ betraying kiss. The bottom third of the poster features a scene of Jesus on the way to Golgotha. What is perhaps most notable is the bold proclamation at the top of the poster that this film is, “The movie that everyone will see until the end of the world.” Unlike most films about the life of Jesus that attempt to synchronize the four Gospels, The Gospel According to St. Matthew relies solely on the biblical text of Matthew for dialogue. In that sense it could be said to be the most “accurate” of Jesus films. Widely considered a classic of the genre, the film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1964. In 2014, the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano called it the best Christ film ever made. Pasolini, a gay Marxist atheist, was inspired to make the film by Pope John XXIII, who, in the spirit of openness of the Second Vatican Council, had encouraged the Church to dialogue with non-Catholic artists.