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Reviews
Martin Luther (1953)
Interpretation of Martin Luther's route
The movie is the version of the story of how Martin Luther, the German scholar of theology, affected the split of the church in the 16th century. It is a great piece if you want to view the history behind the Protestant Reformation. The style is simple, and plot is easy to follow for a viewer. The dialogues are not over-complicated and there are no redundant fragments in the story. The narrator's voice helps to understand the main historical progresses during the movie. It, however, shows the story form the protestants' prospective. Therefore, the plot can be biased, and its accuracy of some details is questionable. Nevertheless, it is still an irreplaceable point on the cause of protestant move and its split from the Roman Catholic Church. It is for sure different from the modern films which have more actions and twists, despite of this, it is a great way to show a historical plot. The movie gives some information on the biography of Martin Luther such as his educational background and marriage as well as his philosophical thoughts. From these, we can see Luther was a knowledgeable man, who had a degree in law and then doctorate in theology. He followed the Catholic church and studied the Bible. The directors illustrate us these facts to show that he was an educated man who was able to influence the public. Unfortunately, we don't get to see the Luther's character in-depth but rather his superficial ideas. The main character's motive was not fully revealed throughout the story. The movie focuses more on the Church's and people's reactions to his revolutionary ideas and changes he brought to beliefs in Christianity and structure of government, as well.
The movie supports the idea that during Martin Luther's lifetime religious places held more power and influence in comparison to the rulers and kings. It was the epoch of rise of Christianity and Pope's rulership. Luther was the one who started to oppose Roman Catholic Church's ideas. He questioned the authority and righteousness of the Pope. When he was a follower of Catholic church, he did not like monks' viewpoints on following the Christianity. He believed that their interpretations of the Bible might not be right and needed to change. "If everybody could interpret the Bible in their own way, there would be more Christians" he said to his teacher in church. The idea that he questioned the most was the way to redemption. During that time, similar to the Max Weber's concept, people were supposed to work hard and save money and spend it so that they can get rid off their sins. Monks from the Catholic church abused this idea and made people believe they could buy their indulgences. The Pope and his people gained wealth with the help of the those who wanted clean their souls. The priests claimed they did not have to confess anything but give some silver. Martin Luther argued this idea and thought that redemption can only be achieved by faith. In the movie, he says "You cannot buy God's mercy". He went against the Catholic church and posted his "95 Theses", which was then widespread among common people. As the time passed, he gained his followers and people started the revolt against the Church. As it was mentioned in the film, half of the Germany was on his side short after he started his own teachings. Additionally, he taught small children his interpretation of the Bible. The Christian church was divided into two and new era of Christianity begun with Martin Luther as an initiator.
Luther's speech, when the court interrogated him, was very powerful. He proclaimed that layman with scripture was better than a Pope without it. Thus, the lines of characters were very effectively written. As I've mentioned above, the dialogues and speeches are the strongest side of the movie. They give a good clarity to people's believes and Martin Luther's standpoint.
Overall, the sets, where the scenes were filmed, were very beautiful and realistic. They quite accurately represent cathedrals, churches, the court and lively Roman streets of that time. Additionally, there are many scenes which include Christian religious rituals and prayers. The directors filmed these parts very carefully with all the details. The actors, in my opinion, did a good job in portraying their characters considering the time the movie was filmed. The black and white colors and low quality, of course, might cause some inconveniences for a viewer, however, again this is quite a good product for the film industry of that time. Moreover, these challenges do not lower the quality of understanding the plot. The movie is worth watching in order to see the protestant's view on the way Martin Luther influenced the big change in Christian religion and weakening the Roman Catholic Church's rulership.