Last Days in the Desert (2016)

Lack of good storyline.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

This film is certainly not for everyone. The pace is, to put it mildly, leisurely. It is very understated. It does not explain everything and hand you a nice, neat interpretation all wrapped up with a bow on top. The incidents portrayed are not found in the Gospels, but neither do they contradict anything in either the Gospels or fundamental tenets of Christianity as in e.g. the Nicene Creed. Statements to the contrary by other reviewers are due either to narrower understandings of Christianity or inattention to details of the dialogue. **Spoiler** The portrayal of Jesus here is maximally human. This Jesus is not Clark Kent, ready to deploy his Superman powers at a moment's notice. However, he states that he is the only son of God and near the end of the film, it appears that he plans to heal the mother until she indicates she does not want him to. Thus, I consider it an exploration into the nature of Jesus' humanity and relationship to God, perhaps skirting the edge of orthodoxy without actually violating it. The most troubling incident, from a Christian perspective, is Jesus' inquiry into the destiny of the son in the story via Satan. Certain passages in the Gospels certainly suggest that Jesus may not have been omniscient, so that in itself is not necessarily problematic. The idea that Jesus would demand this information from Satan made me a little uncomfortable, though, for reasons I can't completely pin down.

I liked this movie. I liked the atmosphere, the soundtrack, the calm voice of Ewan. I also liked the idea of depicting the devil as double of Yeshua. I think the conversation that implies that God likes new outcomes that derive from little changes is essential. The "entanglement" of the three family members illustrates this. Yeshua tries to solve the 'social riddle' with words and compassion, not with godlike powers. But the outcome is unforeseeable, even for him. The movie should have ended after the scenario in the desert. I really wondered why Rodrigo García added the crucifixion scene with the hummingbird. Didn't he know that hummingbirds live only in America? A dragonfly would have had the same effect. But OK, it's the devil, he can do that ... winking smiley.

I gotta say, in my opinion, Jesus was as real as Santa Claus. I don't mean the version derived from legends, real-life saints and folklore. I mean the eating-cookies-and-delivering-presents- to-good-children-version.Good casting, good direction, good acting. I liked the fact that there weren't that many protagonists. Recently, it seems to me that stories not involving more than 5 people mostly turn out to be interesting.This movie could've been about anyone, because at the center of it are ever-present questions and dynamics from everyday life (family life) from back then and now. It could've been about a nomad, exploring his spirituality or existence in the desert.It is slow-paced, but what else to expect from a movie like this. The well-placed score themes and exceptional cinematography by the great Emmanuel Lubezki are two definite reasons to watch this. I've read comments about the landscape not being compelling enough to make this film interesting, which is not true at all. A good cinematographer can do wonders with almost nothing. The only thing I didn't quite like about it were the scenes before the last with Jesus on the cross and being carried to his tomb. The reason is obvious. They're redundant and in no way really connected to the rest of the movie. Garcia should've left them out completely. 6.9/10.

The concept of doing a movie about Christ's 40 days in the Desert is very intriguing. The idea of His trials and tribulations being tempted by Satan and battling his destiny as the Savior of the world would fascinate any Christian audience. The character of Jesus the Man and not Jesus the Son of God is present. The audience is not witnessed to any miracles or sermons. Instead, we see Jesus the young Rabbi and Carpenter and instead of making grand speeches, we see a soft spoken Man trying to be a family psychologist as he tries to help a family He meets while in the Desert. This is very different from your average movie about Jesus Christ. As he tries to deal with being the Son of God he comes across a Father and Son that have troubles of their own. Jesus tries to help in more ways than one and this takes up about 80% of the movie. The movie has many odd moments including a few times when Satan messes with Jesus throughout the Desert. Although this is an interesting concept and I enjoyed the originality of the movie, I feel it falls short. The movie should have been all about the Desert and how it impacted Jesus. We really don't see a difference in Jesus or any character development by the end of the movie. The relationship between Jesus and Satan was also weird. They go from being Enemies, which is obvious, to almost sympathetic friends. Their relationship could have used some more time to focus on. Finally, my biggest gripe with the movie is the ending. I felt the last ten minutes should have been cut entirely. We witness the Crucifixion and the Burial, but not the Resurrection. This decision by the Director, along with having the modern day scene at the very end, is up for debate. Why he decided to include this needs to be questioned and defended. My only opinion on showcasing this is whether or not it is needed for the story line. After all, this is about Jesus in the Desert, nothing else. I felt the ending took away from the plot of what Jesus was doing for those 40 days and why it is important to the overall Character. I feel the movie failed to show us that. Granted we can make parallels between Jesus and God and the Father and Son characters. Still, from what transpires between the characters, is anything learned from their decisions? Overall, Jesus becomes more and more a side character as the Family takes center stage. If the theme of loyalty is the overall message from the movie, the question remains, is it obvious?