The Book of Life (1998)

Name: The Book of Life
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Released: 1998-08-22
Duration: 63 min
Rating: 6.4
Cast: Martin Donovan, PJ Harvey, Dave Simonds, Thomas Jay Ryan, Miho Nikaido

The Book of Life (1998), directed by Hal Hartley, starring Martin Donovan and PJ Harvey.

08/22/1998 BR Comedy and Fantasy 1h 3m

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Quiz about this movie

2000 seen by... Hal Hartley.

Synopsis

New Year's Eve takes on new meaning when the Devil, Jesus Christ, and Christ's assistant Magdalena discuss and debate the End of the World.

Jim DenaultCinematography
Hal HartleyDirector, Writer
Steve HamiltonEditing
Carole ScottaProducer

About the film

The Book of Life is a 1998 film directed by Hal Hartley. In the film, Jesus returns to earth on the eve of the new millennium planning to bring about the apocalypse, but finds himself surprisingly enamored of humanity. It stars Martin Donovan as Jesus, PJ Harvey as Mary Magdalene, and Thomas Jay Ryan as The Devil. Yo La Tengo appear as a Salvation Army band.

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Plot

On the eve of the year 2000, Jesus Christ (Martin Donovan) returns to Earth, arriving at Kennedy Airport in New York with his mysterious and magnetic assistant Mary Magdalena (PJ Harvey). Sent by his wrathful Father, they retrieve a laptop from a locker and, with a few simple clicks, open the seven seals of the Book of Life, fulfilling the prophecy and setting in motion the Apocalypse and Armageddon. Yet, as he confronts humanity at the brink of a new millennium confused, faithless, and immersed in technology, Jesus begins to doubt the destiny assigned to him.

Meanwhile, in a seedy New York bar, a young gambler (Dave Simonds) and the waitress (Miho Nikaido) secretly in love with him strike up a conversation with a charismatic stranger (Thomas Jay Ryan) - none other than the Devil in disguise. Their stories intertwine as heaven and earth seem to collide, bringing all the characters together in a hotel room to face the end, or the possible rebirth, of the world.

Cast

Martin Donovan as Jesus Christ

PJ Harvey as Magdalena

Thomas Jay Ryan as Satan

Dave Simonds as Dave, the guy in Bar

Miho Nikaido as Edie

D.J. Mendel as the lawyer

Katreen Hardt as the receptionis

James Urbaniak as the "True Believer".

Katreen Hardt as the lawyer's assistant.

Production

The film was made for the 2000, Seen By... (2000 vu par...) project, initiated by the French company Haut et Court to produce films depicting the approaching turn of the millennium seen from the perspectives of 10 different countries.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 89% of 9 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.5/10.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack includes PJ Harvey, Yo La Tengo, David Byrne, Takako Minekawa, Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, Osnabrucker Jugendchor, Ben Watt and others.

References

ABC Limelight magazine, July 2005, quoting Hartley on the D. W. Griffith reference.

External links

The Book of Life at IMDb

The Book of Life at Rotten Tomatoes

The Book of Life at Mubi

The Book Of Life Soundtrack: A Film By Hal Hartley at Discogs

Text from The Book of Life (1998 film) on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Life_(1998_film)

Trivia

It premiered on August 22, 1998, a Saturday.
It runs 1h03 — short for a feature film.
This film's quiz has 12 questions — enough to play more than once without repeats.

Production

StudiosTrue Fiction Pictures, Haut et Court, La Sept-Arte
CountriesFrance, United States
LanguagesEnglish
StatusReleased

Cast

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Crew

Jim Denault Cinematography
Hal Hartley Director
Steve Hamilton Editing
Carole Scotta Producer
Caroline Benjo Producer
Matthew Myers Producer
Pierre Chevalier Producer
Thierry Cagianut Producer
Hal Hartley Writer

Questions about this film

What is The Book of Life about?

The Book of Life: New Year's Eve takes on new meaning when the Devil, Jesus Christ, and Christ's assistant Magdalena discuss and debate the End of the World.

Who directed The Book of Life?

The Book of Life was directed by Hal Hartley in 1998.

Who stars in The Book of Life?

The cast of The Book of Life includes Martin Donovan, PJ Harvey, Dave Simonds, Thomas Jay Ryan and Miho Nikaido.

How long is The Book of Life?

The Book of Life runs for 63 minutes, or 1h03.