JESUS, YOU KNOW
Directed by: Ulrich Seidl.
Produced by: Martin Kraml.
Written by: Ulrich Seidl & Veronika Franz.
Director of Photography: Wolfgang Thaler & Jerzy Palacz.
Edited by: Christof Schertenleib & Andrea Wagner.
Released by: Leisure Time Features.
Language: German with English subtitles.
Country of Origin: Austria. 87 min. Not Rated.

Jesus, You know, is a strange, sometimes disturbing, and always thought-provoking film. It is a deceptively simple documentary: the camera is placed on or near the altar of a series of baroque churches in Vienna, and records mostly full-face images of six individuals disclosing their innermost concerns in intense, personal prayers to Jesus.

There is no narration; instead skilful editing and intercutting draws us into a series of life stories. An earnest, grey-haired woman cleans her church and pours out her concerns about her ailing Muslim husband. A lonely middle-aged man blames his failed adult relationships on an unhappy childhood. A woman betrayed by her husband schemes about taking revenge, then philosophizes on death. An adolescent, mocked for his religious devotion, agonizes over his erotic fantasies. And a young couple, one by one, work through their crises at the altar: the woman wishes to marry and settle down, and the man cannot decide whether to enter a monastery instead.

The style is deliberately sparse, the effect not unlike a video-diary from a reality television program. The camera stays rigidly fixed on the faces of its subjects. The stark filming contrasts with the baroque exuberance of the churches. There are, though, brief interludes for group prayers or choral hymns.

This film does not preach or denounce, but it does raise questions. To whom are these people speaking when they kneel at the altar? Is their Jesus simply their own conscience? Do they really expect an "answer," or is Jesus for them a more than usually quiet therapist? One is made to wonder if it is good for them to spend so much time in these one-sided conversations. Had the highly religious young couple talked their problems through with each other rather than with the Almighty, might they have found a better solution? Perhaps the idealized love of Jesus has made these people discontented with their own imperfections and those of their partners and spouses.

Catholicism encourages believers to talk over their concerns with human spiritual directors in the confessional. Let us hope that the notorious failings of some priests in Austria have not thrust the characters in this film back on their own resources. Surely such wounded personalities are not typical of Christians in general.

Dr. Euan Cameron, Henry Luce III Professor of Reformation Church History, Union Theological Seminary, also appeared in and was historical consultant for the documentary Martin Luther (PBS)
December 8, 2004