It really doesn’t matter if you’re religious or not for you to enjoy Luther, a thought-provoking historical drama featuring superb performances. Luther is a movie about a man who tried to reform the Catholic Church, repulsed by its blatant materialism. We rarely see movies exploring this subject which is not surprising. So, you shouldn’t miss the opportunity to check this one out. It features a formidable cast led by Joseph Fiennes. He has a knack for picking controversial subjects as just two years later he would go on to star in Man to Man, also based on true events.
However, we shouldn’t forget about Sir Peter Ustinov in his final role, imposing Alfred Molina and Bruno Ganz. All of them along with an excellent supporting cast made Luther that much better. This is also a period movie, set in 16th century Germany. We will learn more about how the people lived back then and what were they like. And all of this will look pretty believable because of the great production values. With a hefty budget of over $31 million, Luther is a visually appealing movie with spectacular sets. And the costumes look so good you won’t have any other choice but to immerse yourself in the story.
This is a story Martin Luther, a priest who shook the tree of religion, hoping that the rotten apples will fall of its own. Instead, he found out that he had to smack them down instead. He had radical new ideas that contradicted official church teachings. And he struggled all his life to help the common people in understanding and practicing religion.
I still can’t figure out if Luther is a pro or anti-religious movie. Surely, if there were more Christians like Martin Luther throughout history, the religion itself would be very different. And I think that there are still those who think that his teachings are blasphemy even today. If you want to know more about him and what he did, this Wiki article is a good place to start. You should also know that the movie was produced by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a company associated with the Lutheran Church. Although what you’re about to see are mostly historical facts.
I also think I should mention that I’m an atheist and that I approve of Luther’s efforts. Of his efforts to demystify this mess of politics, power, religion, and corruption for the benefit of the common people. I think he was trying to reconcile something that simply could not be reconciled. You’ll notice this in the first part of the movie. A classical clash of morality and reality can have one of two results. You either double down or you lose your religion. And before I get too philosophical on you, I better wrap this up by asking you to check out this phenomenal movie. And tell me what you think about it in the comments below.
Director: Eric Till
Writers: Camille Thomasson, Bart Gavigan
Cast: Joseph Fiennes, Alfred Molina, Peter Ustinov, Jonathan Firth, Claire Cox
Fun Facts: There are sixty-six screen credited actors and actresses. Of those, sixty-one are actors, and five are actresses. This is not surprising as we’re talking about a movie about religion.
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IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0309820/
