Jean-Claude La Marre writes, directs and stars in a version of the last days of Jesus that posits that Jesus was killed in large part because he was dark skinned. The notion is of course more than likely going to anger many audiences simply because Jesus is black, which is a shame since the poorly made film is bad enough on its own to deserve brickbats being tossed at it.<br /><br />There is a reasonable possibility that Jesus was dark skinned since those native to the region tend to be of a darker skin than the light skinned Europeans who had invaded the country, so from a historical stand point one can't really argue with a dark skinned Jesus. One can argue with pretty much argue with most of the rest of the film historically and scripturally since it contains a great number of errors. From Roman bad behavior, to the ethnic mix of the country (important in a film that hinges on a question of race) this film fumbles with its facts too much to be believable.<br /><br />I would like to say that the film works on terms other than historical, but I can't. The simple addition of racial questions wobble the film to the point of non functioning (and it could be argued that the casting of the Jewish elders as very white European "Jews" smacks of racism). It also doesn't help that La Marre doesn't tell the story in a straight forward manner, events are left out or glossed over and a great deal of time is spent with the Jewish religious leaders which helps make his racial plot feasible, but takes away from the story of Jesus.<br /><br />Technically the film is little more than a low rent TV movie. the sets all seem cheap and the costumes often have the feel of costumes. I have to question several choices La Marre makes, in particular why he keeps switching into Aramaic for some of the final scenes. Its a self indulgent touch that has no place. What further complicates everything in the film is that its never really explained, or explained well enough to be accepted as plausible, what a black Jesus is doing among mostly the whiter than white Jewish community. The casting of La Marre as Jesus comes off as a shock tactic rather than something natural. Clearly the choice was made to upset people enough to see the film instead of to just tell the story.<br /><br />I would love to say that the film is a complete write off, but I can't. There are several times when the film has a poetic beauty, the opening shot of Jesus on the Cross, and a few shots with in the crucifixion are quite stunning. La Marre also manages to create several nice emotional moments (The Roman asking Caiaphas how it feels to turn over a Jew) and he also manages to create a human Jesus, that laughs and feels, its a portrait that would be wonderful in a better film with a less distracted director.<br /><br />Nice touches aside the film is a mess. and not worth wasting the time to see it.