Uriah43 Imagine the consequences if Jesus Christ was never resurrected and his body was discovered buried in a tomb in Jerusalem. Or at least, that is the possibility that this film presents. Anyway, informed of this possible discovery by Israel, the Roman Catholic Church sends a priest named "Father Matt Gutierrez" (Antonio Banderas) to investigate. Although skeptical of Father Gutierrez's impartiality, the archaeologist, Sharon Golban" (Olivia Williams) allows him to accompany her into the tomb she discovered. Since many of the details of this discovery have yet to be thoroughly analyzed, she does her best to explain each step of the process along the way. Obviously, the significance of the results to the Christian faith is enormous. Israel is also concerned because possessing the body of Christ is a two-edged sword. On the one hand, it might bring them an invaluable bargaining chip with the West. On the other hand, the influential Orthodox Jewish members within Israel are infuriated with the sacrilege being done and want the site closed immediately. Additionally, realizing that something extremely important has been found, the Palestinians also become involved and seek to possess or destroy whatever is in the tomb. At any rate, rather than disclose some of the more interesting parts of this film, I will just say that the director (Jonas McCord) does a pretty good job of keeping the tension going all the way from start to finish. While the acting was only adequate and I thought the ending could have been drawn out a bit more, I still found it to be an enjoyable film overall.

paladin0110 The Body is based on a book. Like all screenplays it will have much in common & differences. Father Matt is a Jesuit, & experienced the horrors of war. He has faith, a Doctorate in Roman History, & is an experienced investigator. Sent on a mission by the Vatican, assured its just a body. The archaeologist, a Jewish woman, Sharon, is more like your typical liberal, religious only on a holiday. She can't believe anyone would complain about her publishing papers on the find. She even feels she a Dominican Scholar like herself would approve, only that Scholar can't cope & jumps to his death in a state of despair. Much happens, & faith is all remains, either the body is Christ, or a man whose mother prayed her son would have a home with God. Just as your mother probably prays for you. Either way, Father Matt knows it is not Christ, however he does leave Rome, maybe no longer a priest, but still a Man of God. The music is beautiful & it is shot in the Holy Lands, that in itself deserves to be watched. Lastly Banderas is mildly understated, as a Priest who has seen war would be.

Nick Leung The body is about an Israeli archaeologist who discovers an ancient skeleton that has found in a tomb in Jerusalem. The remains indicated it could have been have the body of Christ because of the crucifixion marks, faint marking around the skulls and many other signs. The Vatican then decides to send a priest to investigate the issue and make sure whatever she discovers does not become a major issue. I found the movie to be quite boring and had terrible performances by the actors. This movie is a great example of an interesting idea (discovering the body of Christ) terribly executed. If it were better made and had a better script, it could have been an excellent movie. The ending of the story make the movie seem quite pointless as well, since everything was covered up, and the body was actually not the body of Christ. After watching this movie, I have learned that in order for the movie to be entertaining, it has to be made well even though it was a great idea. I have also learned that we have to keep on digging deeper to find more facts before making assumptions. (They concluded that it was Jesus Christ before they looked at everything (the plaque hidden in the tomb that said it was David who was buried.Overall, the movie is boring, badly directed, and had somewhat bad acting.

e-jonquet Actually, I'm a catholic priest, I have lived for six months in Jerusalem to study Bible and archeology. And that movie really absorbed me. The atmosphere of Jerusalem, halfway between East and West, the political problems are well depicted. All the city fly-by shots make me feel the Jerusalem mood. It's true sometimes that the Church stuff could have been better rendered : religious dresses or biblical references. I like too that the "love story" between fr Matt and Sharon doesn't go too far (as in the novel)... Last factor : the faith problem. At the end of the movie, Matt doesn't have any scientific proof whether it is the body of Christ or not... So, what remains to him is faith and not a scientific certainty. He is really "a man of God". "If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain" says Paul. So Faith tells me that Christ is arisen and that Science should demonstrate that the body couldn't be Christ's (Science cannot prove resurrection but should prove that the facts don't contradict these beliefs). Even that scientific comfort isn't given to him. I have watched the movie with some traditionalist friends and they didn't like the movie for the very reason I liked it. Of course, the Body is not a masterpiece. But it cannot leave us unconcerned.