Hail Mary

Hail Mary (1985)

Genres - Drama, Sports & Recreation, Spirituality & Philosophy  |   Sub-Genres - Religious Drama, Erotic Drama, Psychological Drama  |   Run Time - 107 min.  |   Countries - Switzerland, France, United Kingdom  |   MPAA Rating - R
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Review by Todd Kristel

A highly controversial film when it was first released, Hail Mary was regarded as blasphemous by some people. Others may regard it to be a sincerely devout movie; although it modernizes the nativity story, it remains true to the spirit of the biblical account, and while the film does contain a significant amount of nudity (as well as frank language that may offend some people because of the context), it doesn't seem particularly prurient or titillating. Unfortunately, the film doesn't seem very coherent either. Many people would probably regard Hail Mary as confusing, slow moving, and emotionally uninvolving if they saw it. Even those who enjoy Godard's more renowned work may find this movie to be too self-indulgent and pretentious, although it's possible that some of the imagery, and particularly the dialogue, is intentionally over the top. Indeed, screwball moments such as Mary's inner monologues suggest that Godard tried too hard to create an original interpretation of the biblical account and not hard enough to create a compelling movie. Hail Mary does contain some beautiful cinematography, but otherwise this film doesn't offer much beyond its curiosity value.