Review of Martin Luther

When asked "And what, dear brother, is God's righteousness?", Martin Luther replies with "Exactly what the scripture says, father. That it delivers and does not merely judge". This conversation and the further debate about the role of Latin and wider circulation of the Bible amongst the laymen built the foundation for theological and philosophical arguments and ideas that are portrayed in this movie. A 1953 biopic titled "Martin Luther" retells the story of a German priest of the same name who is known for beginning the movement of Protestant Reformation within Western Christianity in the 16th century. The movie is well-directed and gives a quite detailed educational background for those wishing to gain a deeper knowledge about the beginnings of the Protestant movement. However, the movie's depiction of Martin Luther needs to be taken with a grain of salt since despite largely keeping true with the major historical developments of its time, the movie contains a certain level of bias and creates an idealistic and nearly perfect image of the protagonist. One of the major tasks accomplished by Irving Pichel's biopic is the successful depiction of the overwhelming and all-encompassing nature of religion and the church during that time. As pointed out by the narrator in the very beginning, the people pledged allegiance both to the emperor and to the pope. This dual allegiance portrays the inter-woven and interdependent relationship between religious institutions and royalty of the time and helps the viewers to comprehend one of the most important phenomena in the history of religion. As mentioned previously, the film's bias against the teachings of the Catholic Church at the time are pretty clear from, among many other things, their depiction of Pope Leo X as frivolous and acquisitive. Despite this fact, the filmmakers largely succeeded at transmitting the atmosphere of religious establishments playing an incredibly significant role in both public and personal lives of the people. As put by the narrator, the "church demanded absolute and unquestioning obedience of the people" and this background helps us to better understand the motivations behind Martin Luther's rebellion. The movie starts off by depicting the inner struggles of the young priest who struggles to find love for God who has only been depicted as an angry and merciless judge. This depiction of his personal conflicts and his conversations with the people around him contribute to creating a more personal and humane character. The film's classification as a biopic rather than a traditional documentary allows it to take certain creative liberties, but the major historical accounts are still followed pretty thoroughly. One of such historical accounts is the moment of Luther's publication of his monumental work titled "Ninety-five Theses" in which he opposes the sale of indulgences as a way of people seeking forgiveness for their sins. It is exactly this act of dissent that helps him to build a supportive and loyal following and leads to his excommunication and condemnation. This momentous development in the history of religion is depicted rather skillfully and interestingly in the biopic under examination by building a more detailed and nuanced picture of not only Martin Luther himself but also the notable figures around him. One of the most thought-provoking parts of the movie contains the depiction of the conversations between political and religious leaders of the time regarding the course of action they need to take regarding Luther's activities. The following observation is out of the scope of this essay and I do not obtain the necessary information, but one may argue that Luther's ability to gain support and spread his ideas had a lot to do with historical and ideological developments in the realm of governance and politics of the time. Unlike many other people condemned as heretics by the Church, Luther was spared harsh and violent blowback. In the movie, the Duke Frederick appeals and insists to bring Martin Luther to fair trial by maintaining that while as his subject Luther owes him loyalty, as the prince he owes him protection. This conversation depicts a new development in the history of nation-states and the relationship between the governors and their subjects. This part of the movie serves as larger food for thought on the topic of how public institutions and ideologies of the time may have contributed to Luther's ability to gain as much acknowledgement and exposure as he did. The 1521 Edict of Worms is considered by many as the beginning of the Protestant reformation movement and the biopic in question does a good job in depicting this monumental process. Obviously, it's hard to tell without a scholarly background whether the many nuanced details of this process have claims to historical accuracy, but from a cinematic point of view this significant scene seems well-balanced and quite easy to comprehend. Overall, this biopic provides a very thorough and compelling narration of an incredibly influential man's life and may serve as a good starting point for those wishing to learn more about the history of Christianity.