A strikingly reverent yet politically charged biblical adaptation, shot with neorealist grit and an unusual sense of urgency. It’s one of the rare religious films that feels both spiritually sincere and intellectually provocative.
Along a rocky, barren coastline, Jesus begins teaching, primarily using parables. He attracts disciples; he's stern, brusque, and demanding. His parables often take on the powers that be, so he and his teachings come to the attention of the Pharisees, the chief priests, and elders. They conspire to have him arrested, beaten, tried, and crucified, just as he prophesied to his followers.
A strikingly reverent yet politically charged biblical adaptation, shot with neorealist grit and an unusual sense of urgency. It’s one of the rare religious films that feels both spiritually sincere and intellectually provocative.
Best for
viewers interested in biblical epics with a realist edge
fans of austere 1960s European cinema
people drawn to politically inflected interpretations of religion
cinephiles curious about Pasolini's work beyond his more notorious films
Skip if
you want glossy Hollywood spectacle
you prefer conventional devotional storytelling
you dislike slow, contemplative historical drama
you’re looking for a purely faith-affirming or purely secular take
Overview
Pier Paolo Pasolini’s film is remarkable because it refuses the usual split between reverence and critique. It treats the Gospel text with unusual fidelity, but the result is not pious prettiness; it is rough, immediate, and alive with social tension. Jesus comes across less like a softened icon than a stern, urgent radical moving through a world of poverty and power.
Worth noting
The film’s neorealist texture gives the familiar story a physical weight. Faces, landscapes, and gestures matter as much as the words, and that grounded style keeps the parables from feeling abstract. It is austere, but never inert; the simplicity becomes part of its force.
Bottom line
What makes it endure is the tension at its core: a Marxist atheist making one of cinema’s most serious religious films. That contradiction does not cancel the movie out; it deepens it. The result is a work that can be read as devotional, political, or both at once, which is why it remains so distinctive among biblical adaptations.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Jaime Rebanal 🇵🇸 (5★) · 869 likes
The best thing to Pier Paolo Pasolini's The Gospel According to St. Matthew is the matter to which it handles the subject it depicts, it never succumbs to a specific bias. Many films about the life of Jesus Christ exist but there is a reason as to why Pier Paolo Pasolini's take happens to be the very best of the bunch. Years ago, this was my introduction to the films of Pasolini and it remains my favourite. It was interesting
Paul Elliott (4★) · 614 likes
A supporter of Marxism, openly gay and a confessed atheist, Pier Paolo Pasolini, the Italian director who went on to direct Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, might not seem the most obvious choice to formulate an artistic retelling of the life of Christ from his birth through to his resurrection. Additionally, Enrique Irazoqui, the nineteen-year-old and virtually unknown actor who portrays Christ is not especially prepossessingly charismatic and initially looks like the most improbable person to represent him.
Jerry (4.5★) · 526 likes
“If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Matthew 19:21 Jesus was a communist.
Sam Jalali (5★) · 382 likes
When one would initially think of the definitive cinematic adaptation of the life of Jesus Christ, an ardent Catholic might expect the most faithful interpretation to come from a devout theologian, someone deeply embedded within the institutional framework of the Church. But among the most important factors to consider when watching The Gospel According to St. Matthew is that it is a film directed by a man who was an avowed atheist and a Marxist, and that man is none other
Ben Nash (5★) · 377 likes
TIRED: Religion is the opiate of the masses WIRED: Religion is an instrument of revolution
Combines religious conviction with colonial power, sacrifice, and political conflict.
Themes
faith and doubt, biblical adaptation, political radicalism, poverty and power, reverence and austerity, neorealism, prophecy and martyrdom, social justice
Topics
biblical drama, religious cinema, neorealism, 1960s, austere, political allegory, spiritual, historical drama, art-house, martyrdom