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Movie Review: "Luther"
by Steven Clark
23 January 2004
For most Americans, history begins with Elvis Presley. Our movie
biographies are replete with rock stars, pop singers and persecuted
minorities, but rarely show true heroes of our history, men and women who
have shaped human thought and action. One of these was Martin Luther, and a
new depiction of this towering force of the Reformation is now on film. Luther is played by Joseph Fiennes, and is an intense, submissive monk who seeks a loving and merciful God. He disappoints his father by dropping out of law school, and Luther is never satisfied; he shouts at God and pleads for
understanding, arousing the sympathy of elder monk Johann Von Staupitz
(Bruno Ganz). Staupitz guides Luther on ways to increase his faith, among
these a pilgrimage to Rome. Luther arrives, but instead of his torments
being calmed, he is disillusioned with the commercialism of the religious
sites and easygoing acceptance of lapses in clerical behavior. Upon his return
Staupitz advises him to become a university instructor, and his
lectures on God and the Bible draw supporters as he tries to make the
scriptures approachable to the average mind. He also makes enemies when he
begins to say the Bible, not the Catholic Church, should be the ultimate
authority on faith.
The Church needs money. The Pope plans to rebuild St. Peter's to
make it an outward symbol of a bigger and better One True Church, so it's
fund-raising time. Indulgences are sold so souls can make their way into
heaven, and their purchase is revved up by Johann Tetzel (Alfred Molina),
who is sent to Germany to cajole, humor, and threaten the masses to cough
up. The movie shows Rome as less a spiritual force then a great corporate
enterprise, and Tetzel's appeals reminicent of televangelists. The fires of
hell are threatened, but Tetzel advises all that 'learned monks are standing
by' to help.
Luther is furious. He has gained the respect of the peasants and
tradesmen, and has befriended a simple woman and her crippled daughter. He
sadly tells her that the indulgence she bought with her hard-earned money
will not get her into heaven. Luther has had enough. He nails his famous 95
theses on the church doors denouncing indulgences, and the war is on.
Luther gains allies from this confrontation. Prince Friedrich the Wise
(played by a doting, cagey, Peter Ustinov) at first is upset. He has a vast
collection of holy relics, but in the end agrees with many other German
leaders and supports Luther, even disposing of his collection, and cannot
hand Luther over to Rome.
The film shows Luther's ideas prevail, but at a price. Extremists use
his doctrine of faith to destroy churches. Peasants see his thoughts as
backing their demand for social justice. "I wanted reform, not rebellion,"
Luther laments as he sees slaughtered peasants, among them the woman and her
daughter. Yet he continues. The film continues past the epic confrontations
with the Emperor at Worms to show a human side that is always part of
Luther's faith...he translates the Bible into German. Katrina Von Bora
(Claire Cox), a runaway nun, becomes his admirer and marries him, giving a
human dimension to his life that the enfoeced celibacy of the Church
denied. Hymns are written, and man slowly begins to think on his own...with
all the glory and danger that it entails.
"Luther" is not a big movie. It lacks a huge budget, was made in Germany,
which adds to to its authenticity...the costumes, sets, and locations are
well-done, and one of the pleasures of "Luther" is seeing the Germans as good
guys and something other then Nazis, which is all Hollywood wants to show.
Here, they debate religious freedom, take control of their country, strive
to find the truth, and in essence form a counter to the supernational,
corporate world.
"Luther" is a solid film with good performances especially from Fiennes.
It disappeared from the cinemas pretty fast (my own city paper the St. Louis Post-Dispatch refused to review it), but when it comes out on DVD by all
means rent it. It will work better on a small screen than a large one, and
give you a good history lesson as well as an important hero who made us what
we are and is one of our race's most important minds. His struggle will
remind us of ours, and this is a film the entire family can watch, enjoy,
and discuss.
Any comments? Contact me at horribilicribifax@hotmail.com
STEVEN CLARK
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