“A cheeky, irreverent parallel to the life of Jesus by the last great comedy troupe to make movies” Marty Mapes/Movie Habit
Monty Python, a British comedy troupe from the 1970s and 80s, was never a stranger to controversy and made a point of making people uncomfortable. But in 1979, many feel that they released a movie that went too far.
“Monty Python’s Life of Brian” was written collectively by the members of Monty Python: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin, and was produced by former Beatle and new Producer, George Harrison.
I recommend this movie as it makes a lot of great observations about how the actual simple teachings of Jesus, many of which include themes of Love and Acceptance, have been overshadowed by so many scholars and theologians misinterpreting his teachings. But be aware that some versions include a scene with full frontal nudity.
The first time I watched it, many years ago, there was one scene in particular that really stood out to me. In the scene, Brian has been mistaken for Jesus and is being chased and stalked by a group of people. As he’s trying to run away the scene turns to those pursuing him and their efforts to find meaning in every little interaction. At one point, Brian is running and his shoe falls off. One of his pursuers picks up his shoe and starts trying to convince others in the mob that it’s a sign. More events happen that are clearly random but one can see the rumors starting and the need to attribute meaning coming in to play. Brian even tries to tell the people he’s not attempting to teach them anything, but even his protestations are met with people looking to find the hidden messages in his words.
Many who have watched the movie come away with the feeling that the point was to mock religion, and religious people, but interviews with the cast members indicate that their intentions were to create a satirical story that included elements from their distrust of religion. Although many have felt that it was sacrilegious and blasphemous, according to the writers they were looking to “lampoon the practices of organized religion”, not Jesus or God. “The intended subject of the satire was not Jesus and his teachings but religious dogmatism”.
The Python’s treatment of Jesus is actually quite respectful with efforts made to keep Brian’s and Jesus’s character’s separate from each other.
What this movie was meant to do was to “poke fun at revolutionary groups and 1970s British left-wing (conservative) politics”. Political messages included throughout the movie include digs at trade unions, modern resistance groups, Trotskyist factions, the Romans, etc.
There is also an element of ridicule of blind faith and over zealous followers adding meaning to ordinary events that never had any real importance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python%27s_Life_of_Brian
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/73505/13-facts-about-monty-pythons-life-brian
The Art of Peaceful Protest 