Film on Religion

Introduction

The relationship between film and religion is as ancient as cinema itself, even if the academic study of "film and religion" as a subfield within religious studies has only matured since the late 1980s. As scholar André Bazin famously stated, "The cinema has always been interested in God" (Bazin, 1997, p. 61). If one accepts the widely accepted theory that the Lumière brothers' first public showing of the film for a paying audience in December 1895 marks the beginning of cinema, then the first ten years of the medium saw at least six filmed depictions of the life and passion of Jesus Christ, including ones produced by Thomas Edison and Louis Lumière, the men who invented film. Throughout the twentieth century, Jesus Christ has remained a popular film subject and a focal point for controversy in the industry. A variety of theological viewpoints have been presented by directors including Sidney Olcott, D. W. Griffith, Cecil B. DeMille, George Stevens, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Norman Jewison, Martin Scorsese, and Mel Gibson. But Jesus is not the first religious figure to grace the screen; religious themes, customs, personas, and tensions are frequently included in motion pictures all around the world. Thus, the first part of this post will provide a worldwide overview of films that have addressed topics relevant to religious studies since the mid-1980s.

The relationship between film and religion extends beyond its content, as some critics have noted. Religious films and connotations may also be found in a film's formal aesthetic and the cinematic experience itself. "I would even go so far as to say that the cinema is polytheistic and theogonic," once said Jean Epstein, another pioneering film critic and filmmaker.

Film cannot just depict or reflect an existing religion; rather, it may be a religious experience in and of itself, constructing its gods, goddesses, and tales. Film studies and religion studies can therefore be helpfully separated into three main approaches, which are not mutually exclusive. The second part of this entry will look at the different scholarly reactions to the connections between religion and film: religion in film, religion as film, and the cinematic experience and ritual.

Cinemas and Religions Worldwide

It would be hard to include every foreign filmmaker who has dealt with religious topics in a variety of ways since 1985, yet many do. When international cinema explores religious subjects, it frequently does so by depicting religion as a source of conflict. The most frequent disputes occur when the social, political, economic, and theological realities of contemporary life, particularly in a postcolonial setting, clash with traditional religious beliefs. When religious people from different faiths are compelled to coexist because of contemporary living and the legacy of colonialism, conflict develops. Conflict also occurs when socioreligious identities collide with personal gender, sexual, and ethnic identities.

Films on Religion from Asia

In the 1970s, as filmmakers experimented with new forms and processes of production, East Asian cinema saw the emergence of various trends. Following in the footsteps of Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu, Japan has remained a leading creator of films addressing important religious subjects. Hirokazu Koreeda's Maborosi (1995) employs a "Zen aesthetic"; Toshihiro Tenma's Kyosono Tanjo (Many happy returns, 1993) examines new religious movements in Japan; and two 1989 films, Sen no Rikyu (Kei Kumai) and Rikyu (Hiroshi Teshigahara), explore the life of the Zen Buddhist tea master Rikyu.

Since the mid-1980s, China's New Cinema movement, which occasionally incorporates Confucian and Daoist aspects, has had a significant effect on the international film landscape. Chinese filmmaker Chen Kaige's 1987 film King of the Children raises Daoist concerns, and Zhang Yimou's 1990 film Ju Dou criticizes Confucian ethics. In the midst of Bangladesh's quest for political independence, Tareque Masud's Matir Moina (The Clay Bird, 2002) provides a sympathetic but critical look at Islam while recounting the tale of the country's formation.

Three of Jane Campion's notable films, Angel at My Table (1991), The Piano (1993), and Holy Smoke (1999), include religious themes. Gregor Nicholas's Broken English (1996) and Lee Tamahori's Once Were Warriors (1994) both address cross-cultural disputes involving Maoris and white people. Christian-Aboriginal cultural disputes are the subject of Australian films like Tracey Moffatt's Nice Coloured Girls (1987) and Nicholas Parsons's Dead Heart (1996).

Classifying South Asian Religious Film is a challenging task due to its vast scope (Mumbai's annual production surpasses Hollywood's) and the intricate integration of mythical elements throughout Indian cultures. Mythological themes and tales of Hindu saints are deeply ingrained in Indian cinema history. Many of these tales are still included in masala films of today, woven into action-packed adventure scenes, household dramas, and song-and-dance scenes. The Mah?bh?rata retelling in Arjun Sagnani's Agni Varsha (2002), Ashutosh Gowariker's postcolonial religion/cricket epic Lagaan (2001), and the Muslim-Hindu religious conflicts explored in Kamal Haasan's Hey Ram (2000), Khalid Mohamed's Fiza (2000), and Deepa Mehta's Earth (1998) are a few films with themes that religious studies scholars might find interesting.

Film on Religions from Mediterranean Countries

Israeli Religious Cinema has portrayed conflicts toward the Mediterranean, including those involving gender and religion (Amos Gitai, Kadosh 1999), sexuality and religion (Sandi Simcha Dubowski, Trembling Before G-d 2001), and orthodoxy and secularism (Yossi Somer, The Dybbuk of the Holy Apple Field 1998). Divine Intervention (2001) by Elia Suleiman depicts issues in Palestine by combining politics and faith.