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Daniel, an enigmatic actor (Lothair Bluteau), is hired to stage the church's Passion Play (the story of Jesus Christ). Faced with declining audiences, the church authorities hope he will revitalize it and make the play more exciting for a modern, secular audience. Daniel gathers his apostles: local actors whose careers have reached personal nadirs (Remy Girard dubbing porn movies, Catherine Wilkening being exploited by TV commercial directors, Robert LePage doing narration for documentaries, and Johanne-Marie Tremblay who's dropped out of the business entirely). They re-imagine the story of Christ using contemporary research methods, giving the piece a decidedly humanistic stance that captures the public's attention, but enrages the very church officials who commissioned the play. Writer/director Denys Arcand's satirical comedy-drama is essentially an agnostic (yet still reverential) retelling of Christ's story, using the entertainment industry as its backdrop, with comments on spirituality, commercialization, art and individual integrity. Thoroughly compelling like most of Arcand's work, this remains a funny, dramatic and delightfully flamboyant film--and a conceptually audacious one in a country not always known for "concept" films. --D.K. Latta
