“ Luther”

By David DiCerto
Catholic News Service

NEW YORK (CNS) -- The life of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk who forever changed the face of Christianity, is explored in the sweeping, but flawed, historical drama "Luther" (RS Entertainment).

While bringing the period and its key personalities vividly to life, director Eric Till's well-crafted biopic veers steadily from balanced historical accuracy toward hagiography. Throughout the narrative Till deflects blame away from Luther, glossing over his shortcomings with a gilded revisionist glaze.

The film literally opens in the midst of a raging electrical storm, metaphorically setting the stage for the theological maelstrom that would eventually sweep across Europe. Caught in the tempest is a young German law student, Martin Luther (Joseph Fiennes). Fearing for his life, he promises to forsake his legal career for a monk's cowl in exchange for God's protection against the elements.

True to his vow, he abandons his studies and joins the Augustinian order -- a decision that costs him his relationship with his practical-minded father, but gains him a spiritual surrogate in the person of the pious Father Johann von Staupitz (Bruno Ganz).

Once in the monastery, Luther walks a tightrope between piety and madness. Sensing that the harsh routine of monastic life might be contributing to the young cleric's extreme asceticism and scrupulosity, Staupitz recommends that Luther accompany some fellow monks to Rome. As depicted by the filmmaker, once in the eternal city, the idealistic Luther witnesses firsthand the toxic corruption and worldly decadence rampant there. For dramatic effect, it is also during this Roman sojourn that Luther first learns about the church's abuses concerning the practice of indulgences.

After returning disillusioned to Germany, Luther is sent off to Wittenberg, a university town, where he is to study and eventually teach theology. It is at Wittenberg that Luther meets Professor Karlstadt (Jochen Horst), a heterodox theologian who, at least in this version, is saddled with the blame for some tragic results of Luther's later reform movement.

Using a loaded-deck approach, the film proceeds with a series of scenes charting Luther's growing animus toward papal authority, leading to the nailing of his infamous 95 Theses (arguments) on the door of Wittenberg Cathedral, his ensuing schismatic drift from orthodoxy into heresy and eventual excommunication.

Time and the desire for narrative clarity prohibit the filmmaker from lingering too long on any of the subsequent theological sparring matches between the firebrand Luther and his ecclesiastical adversaries, resulting in an oversimplification of the complex religious and political issues involved.

While many of the abuses documented are tragically based on verifiable truth, the film presents several arguments which contain skewed -- if not outright false -- interpretations of Catholic doctrine. The manipulative narrative seems to position the church and its hierarchy as self-indulgent vehicles of worldliness and repression, setting them against the egalitarian benevolence of Luther.

And though it misses no opportunity to spotlight ecclesiastical corruption and hypocrisy, Till's film conveniently shies away from any unflattering facts that would cast Luther in an unfavorable light, including his endorsing violence to suppress the Peasants' Revolt. This and other unpleasantries -- which the broom of poetic license could not sweep under the narrative rug -- are simply scapegoated onto another character, as in the case of Karlstadt.

The film presents Luther as an irreproachable folk hero whose crowning achievement was to free Scripture from its long imprisonment in Latin texts, making it accessible to laymen in their own tongue. This common misconception turns a blind eye to the fact that a number of versions of the Bible in the German vernacular predated Luther's.

The film also promotes an erroneous understanding of indulgences.

While it is certain that abuses involving their dispensation did occur, the film mistakes those abuses for official church teaching.

To its credit, not all of the film's Catholic clergy are caricatured. Perhaps the most interesting and emotionally nuanced character is that of Staupitz, who remains loyal to the church throughout the film while maintaining a paternal bond with Luther, imploring him to channel his passion into reforming the church from within rather than attacking its doctrines.

While shaded by a suspect reading of the issues involved, the historical importance of the subject matter and its central character offer much in the way of thoughtful discussion. And while its oversimplifications and revisionist tendencies warrant caution when viewing the film with adolescents, "Luther" imbues the personalities involved with an appealing humanity, breathing new vitality into events and ideas which, though fossilized by centuries of academic debate, still affect us as Christians today. For that reason alone, "Luther" is worth seeing.
Due to recurring violence and theological complexities, the USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

* DiCerto is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.