Review - Christian Jankowski: Casting Jesus

Scene from Casting Jesus

This film is being premièred at London's Lisson Gallery. Its format is a game-show in which thirteen actors audition for the part of Christ before a panel consisting of Monseñor José Manuel del Rio Carrasco, Vatican Priest; Sandro Barbagallo, Art Critic at the Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano newspaper, and Massimo Giraldi, journalist and Secretary of the Commission for Film Classification of the Italian Bishop Conference.


As the thirteen actors are whittled down to six, three, and finally one Jesus, they undertake ever more demanding tasks. The film is powerful and moving - not only seeking the Jesus from among the thirteen men auditioning before the panel, but also inviting the viewer to engage in the emotions asked of the actors. When the panel asked each man in turn to smile a deep, human smile, and to express the sorrow of all the suffering in the world, I found myself smiling and sorrowful- I was glad that the room was dark! Other tasks raise searching questions; for instance, how might we imagine Jesus breaking bread, healing a sick man (not, the panel judge, by kissing him), or dying on the cross. As the host of the show emphasises in his introduction, the challenge of the panel's task is to find the humanity of Jesus; the film can act for the viewer as a kind of mirror onto our own humanity and to search for our own likeness to Christ.

The film lasts an hour and runs on the hour at the Lisson Galley, Bell Street (off Edgware Rd) until 1 October. www.lissongallery.com/


Naomi Billingsley has recently completed an MA in Christianity and the Arts at King's College London.