The Passion of Michelangelo
A boy from a Chile village declares
that he has divine vision and can speak to the virgin Mother. A local priest
supports him and invites the villagers to gather on a hilltop. They do and
witness the miracles performed by the boy. Very soon he has an enormous
following and the performance of miracles becomes a fairly regular event. The
boy even starts to speak in support of the dictator Pinochet which naturally
has an influence on the villagers. There is also the atheist journalist with a
devout wife. The couple's children have all died soon after birth and the disillusioned
wife starts worshiping the boy passionately. The journalist's difficult
financial position forces him to print and sell photographs of the miracles.
The Church sends an investigator to
ascertain the truth. The investigator is inclined to reject the claim but has to
contend with the faith of thousands of villagers from the area. However, before
he comes to a decision, the adolescent boy starts believing in his own powers
and wants to be rid of the control of the local priest. He denounces the priest
and impersonates the virgin mother at the next congregation which, to his
dismay, displeases the villagers. Meanwhile the investigator is able to
establish that the miracles are a sham created skillfully by the Government
aeroplanes and the local priest acting under the Government's instructions. The
angry mob of the villagers attacks the boy who flees with the help of the
investigator and the journalist.
The last shot shows a
wheelchair-bound man getting up on his feet when blessed by the boy. Is it a
miracle?
India abounds in godmen. Some of
them claim to possess supernatural powers, most of them are con artists and all
of them have a huge number of devotees. Stories of such urchins, calves and
even dogs who perform miracles do crop up from time to time and the Hindi
electronic media have a field day shouting about their miraculous feats. The
idea of India encompasses both the material progress and the glittering city
life on the one hand and the ludicrous credulity of millions of eager believers
on the other. The two divisions are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
There are some major
dissimilarities between the Indian reality and the Latin American one. Contrary
to all claims, most Indian religious systems do not have undisputed central
overriding authorities. There can be no such thing here as an official
spiritual investigator. It is therefore easy to defy any attempt to reign in
the unruly power over the public opinion and action, being exercised by a
claimant of supernatural abilities.
Secondly, it is not even necessary
that the godman must be compassionate, must be docile, must be accessible to
the public in general. There are a lot many five-star godmen whose public
encounters are restricted to issuing edicts but they are always available to
mediate on behalf of some industrialist or politician or some such influential
personality.
Thirdly, it is not even necessary
to perform any miracle or even utter pearls of wisdom once the godman is
established. He/she may employ bouncers to shoo away any skeptic who dares to
pose a challenge.
I could go on, but I shall just add
one more point and stop. The Marathi film 'Deool' (meaning a temple)
graphically shows how an insignificant village exploits such an opportunity and
attracts great commerce. Nobody looks askance at the gross commercialisation of
devotion! The timid attempts of the journalist and his friend in the film, to
sell photographs and statues seems so pathetic when compared to the vulgar
moneymaking seen at umpteen devotional institutions all over India.
Back to the film, The investigating priest carried a
vexed expression throughout the film, which was mildly irritating; but there
were far bigger compensating merits. The Marathi film was bolder in painting
the village folk starkly in hideous hues; but 'The Passion of Michelangelo' had
more implications. 'Deool' made strong comments on the corruption of the social
and political fibre of interior India; whereas this film, while exposing the
gullibility of the villagers, also implicated the despotic regime. The central
character of Miguel Angel too is explored in some detail. The subplot of an
atheist succumbing to economic and emotional pressures also catches attention.
It may be said that the film asserts that the affair of an orphan boy making
claims of communicating with a godlike mystical figure is important enough to
involve political, psychological and of course spiritual issues.
Just one more point. I do not know
if the film is supposed to be a courageous attempt to analyse the blind faith
of innocent Christians. As an Indian living among mercenary godmen and their
gullible prey in their millions, I am inured to the sight of such exploitation.
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