Abel Ferrara
Mary

In its softness and grace, "Mary" is a deeply corrosive film that addresses the longstanding issues surrounding the figure of Mary Magdalene and more, shamelessly sensationalized and fictionalized by the "Da Vinci Code."

It is a work that unfolds on different planes that are indissolubly intertwined, questioning some corollaries of traditional Catholic teaching such as the superstition of Jewish deicide that has given the Church of Rome the pretext to kill millions of Jews throughout its history, and that, as mentioned, concerning the role of Mary Magdalene who, from a mere prostitute as presented by the integralist Catholic doctrine based on the official gospels and scriptures, becomes not a lover or the wife of Christ (as often described in the so-called apocryphal gospels), but more simply and revolutionarily the messenger of his word. The dispute related to these aspects that have so irritated the Vatican, however, acts in the background compared to the many other themes addressed in the work.

Abel Ferrara primarily attacks American censorship, often orchestrated by powerful Christian hardline lobbies (proudly including George Bush), giving voice to director Tony Childress (Matthew Modine) who strongly complains about the protests against the film he made about the passion of Christ ("they are fucking up the first amendment"). But also representing that part of America critical of Tony's film, Abel Ferrara manages to cause a stir. To criticize it, in fact, is not the most fanatic white prelate sent on a mission directly from Vatican lands, but a black, corpulent, and unfaithful presenter (certainly, it takes real courage to betray your wife a few hours before childbirth) who found faith only after the consummation of his family drama.

His intimate pain intertwines with the greater tragedy of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with which Mary (Juliette Binoche) is forced to coexist in her quest for the truth about Mary Magdalene. On the issue that has been bloodying the Holy Land for decades, Abel Ferrara does not take a stand but limits himself to manifesting the apocalypse through the image of a bomb explosion and, above all, through the shocking (absolutely true) vision of a father who, finding himself accidentally caught in a shootout between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian rebels, tries in vain to shield his child with his body.

The film, in any case, leaves us with a glimmer of hope. God punishes but forgives.

Just as every minor personal problem can be happily resolved with the search for faith and the help of a merciful God, even the greatest sufferings can find peace. And this without resorting to the necessary intermediation of the Church because, as Mary teaches us, we are all created in God's image and likeness, God is in each of us, and therefore, we can seek and find Him autonomously.

Truly memorable is the final scene that invites us all to reflect. We have been indoctrinated to believe that God's word was spread by Peter and his disciples (all men). The following two thousand years have been riddled with genocides and unspeakable atrocities, many committed in the name of God.

What do you think, how would the history of humanity have been if we had known that the divine message was spread by a woman along with other women?