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Last Days in the Desert
R1 - America - Broadgreen Pictures Review written by and copyright: Eric Cotenas (23rd August 2016). |
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The Film
 An imagined episode– or should we say, one that has no textual basis – of the latter period of Jesus' forty days of fasting in the desert, Last Days in the Desert from Rodrigo García (Albert Nobbs) finds the Jerusalem-bound messiah dubbed Yeshua (Trainspotting's Ewan McGregor) bedeviled by Lucifer in the form of his demonic double (also McGregor) who tries to sew seeds of doubt in the carpenter about his father's love for him and if his impending martyrdom will have any meaning. Steadfast in his beliefs, Yeshua comes upon the desert dwelling of an old man (Munich's Ciarán Hinds), his much younger second wife (Man of Steel's Ayelet Zurer), and their teenage son (The Tree of Life's Tye Sheridan). Trading labor for water and shelter, Yeshua lights upon the family's dysfuctions: the father wants his son to follow his ways and is too proud to address communication gap between the two of them, the son has wanderlust and a desire to make his own way in the world, and the dying, ailing young wife respects her husband but also does not want her son to be able to learn any trade he wants (preferably in Jerusalem). Yeshua is at a loss to advise any of one of them and lingers between staying and continuing on to Jersusalem and his destiny. Although he knows better than to make a wager with the the devil, Yeshua does chose to remain temporarily when Lucifer promises that he will leave him alone for the rest of his journey should he manage to resolve the family's "entanglement [...] to the satisfaction of the mother, the father and the child." Slight in plotting and simplistic in execution with costumes and settings – the contributions of seasoned production designer Jeannine Oppewall (L.A. Confidential) and costume designer Judianna Makovsky (Six Degrees of Separation), such as they are, are nevertheless striking – stripped to their bare minimum against striking California desert locations masterfully lensed by the great Emmanuel Lubezki (Children of Men), Last Days in the Desert is unlikely to convert or create believers, but it proves equally thought-provoking for those who see Jesus as a fictional character: a holy man traveling anonymously and finding his words not much more than reassuring when faced with people neither heathen nor heretic who nevertheless have little cause or use for faith or believe in the immortal soul. Yeshua questions the effectiveness of words and whether he even has the right to intercede with action, especially when Lucifer tells him that the same situation with perhaps even the same people has been lived many times before with the outcome down to the various little changes that God concerns himself with in the seeming absence of some bigger plan for humanity. Yeshua knows his father has the power to do so, and for whatever reason Lucifer was cast out of Heaven before he now exclaims with disgust that the "obstinate, dull repetitiveness of your father's plan is bewildering to me" leaving nothing to surprise him while later expressing a sense of awe about being in God's presence when Yeshua surprises him by asking what his father is like ("Is there a face?"). Lucifer further shakes Yeshua's faith in his own abilities by deceiving him into believing he has heard the mother confess that her son is not his father's (it is enough that Yeshua is faced with his own weakness that Lucifer then reveals his deception after assuming her form to tempt him), and Yeshua is ultimately unsure whether he has actually effected any part of the outcome; indeed, one wonders if Yeshua is indeed the messiah or another delusional holy man until the film concludes by rushing through his crucifixion and his entombment, kind of a misstep in the same vein as needless the modern day coda. McGregor's accent slips as Lucifer, but the role is played with understated humor and seemingly deliberate use of anachronistic language, and his fallen angel is considerably more interesting. Believers may or may not be moved, but there is plenty to admire aesthetically. 
Video
Broadgreen has given this Arri Alexa-lensed film an attractive high-bitrate, dual-layer, progressive, anamorphic 2.40:1 widescreen transfer that does the best it can in SD in conveying both wind-weathered and sand-blown faces and rocky surfaces along with the coarse materials of clothing. The film would probably look dazzling on Blu-ray, but it was probably considered not sufficiently epic to justify the upgrade. 
Audio
English and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 audio tracks highlight the sparse dialogue and unpredictable but not particularly busy use of surrounds in the desert setting. It is difficult to tell if there is quite the variation in performance between McGregor's dubbed dual roles. Optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles are also included. 
Extras
There are absolutely no extras or even start-up trailers. 
Overall
Slight in plotting and simplistic in execution with costumes and settings, Last Days in the Desert is unlikely to convert or create believers but there is plenty to admire aesthetically. 
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