07/09/2005

Abel Ferrara's religious obsession was already obvious in many of his films, particularly in Bad Lieutenant. With Mary [+see also:
trailer
film profile], the independent American filmmaker, who grew up in the Bronx and received a Christian education, is presenting in competition in Venice his personal thoughts on Catholicism, directly confronting the figure of Christ and that of, very controversially, the woman who always stood by his side, Mary Magdelene.

Obviously, he does it his own unique way, with his habitual curiosity and passion, imagining a film within the film, a megalomaniac filmmaker, an actress (Juliette Binoche) who is performing the role of Magdelene and was profoundly moved by it, and a journalist who converts. Ferrara shoves around the Apocryphal Gospels, as did the "Da Vinci Code"'s best-selling author, and he refers to the millions worth of receipts Mel Gibson made with his Christ, reminds us of the current Israelo-Palestinian conflict, in order to build a parable about fiction (cinema’s?)

Mary, shot between Italy, New York and Jerusalem with a budget totalling 5 million dollars, is an entirely European production: the Italian Roberto De Nigris in co-production with the French company Central. Wild Bunch will handle international sales.

(Translated from Italian)