The New Gospel

Set in the Italian town of Matera, where both Pasolini and Gibson’s films about the life of Christ were shot due to its visual similarity to Jerusalem. The New Gospel reframes the biblical narrative in the context of a profoundly unequal 21st Century and reclaims Jesus as a social revolutionary. Director Milo Rau reprises the elegance and power of Pasolini’s film but melds its narrative with the lives of the migrant farmworkers who live on the edge of Matera in inhumane conditions. Led by political activist Yvan Sagnet, the workers are fighting for the rights of migrants who came to Europe across the Mediterranean, only to be virtually enslaved in the tomato fields of Southern Italy. The director and his team return to the social origins of the gospels, presenting a passion play for our global civilization. The result is a resounding call for solidarity with the poorest of the poor and a heartfelt plea for a more just and humane world.