Too much of everything

Lack of good storyline.

Absolutely Fantastic

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

I'm so grateful that I didn't watch this movie in a theater. On DVD you can skip and fast forward some of the boring scenes. The music is good, the movie does contain a twist about the main character, but that's all that keeps me from giving it an extremely low mark. The plot is horrible, boring, and the supporting actors don't make do. I would strongly advise anyone not to watch this.

Last Days in the Desert will be, obviously, a polarising film. Those of Christian faith will bemoan the lack of divinity that Yeshua is given within the movie and the frailties he shows. The near zero star reviews replete with phrases IN CAPITALS as if that lends some sort of credence or authority to their view are testament (if you'll forgive the pun) to this.Those of us who aren't of that persuasion will see the movie for what it is. A devout man enters the desert and is challenged by both imagined terrors (ie: Satan, although I would suggest this may, instead be his conscience) and real struggles. The lack of supernatural events (ie: his alleged resurrection) are a counterpoint to this.In many ways, this is an historical drama about said holy man and his struggles. From a Jewish or Muslim perspective in the Abrahamic faith, he is what he is, either a slightly insane heretic who thinks he's the Son of God (Judaism) or a prophet, if only human, for the same God (Islam) worthy of reverence in his role but not some divine creature sent to Earth for the benefit of one slice of the Abrahamic pie.As a fan of McGregor's work, I thoroughly enjoyed the piece, although I didn't really see the nuances between the Yeshua character and Satan as some had suggested in other reviews.His eventual crucifixion and entombment seemed valid as a way of underlining who we were dealing with and his lack of miraculous rise from the dead gave a sense of reality.I get that many Christians will be desperately insulted by the film, but then they rarely accept the fact that Muslims in particular pray to the same God, so being insulted is almost a baseline for them.

I liked this movie. I liked the atmosphere, the soundtrack, the calm voice of Ewan. I also liked the idea of depicting the devil as double of Yeshua. I think the conversation that implies that God likes new outcomes that derive from little changes is essential. The "entanglement" of the three family members illustrates this. Yeshua tries to solve the 'social riddle' with words and compassion, not with godlike powers. But the outcome is unforeseeable, even for him. The movie should have ended after the scenario in the desert. I really wondered why Rodrigo García added the crucifixion scene with the hummingbird. Didn't he know that hummingbirds live only in America? A dragonfly would have had the same effect. But OK, it's the devil, he can do that ... winking smiley.

To all its credit, "Albert Nobbs" director Rodrigo Garcia makes a marvelous transition of the story of the temptation of Jesus to the art-house scene, cementing this "not intended for the Christian audiences". Though the art-house Biblical story is nothing unusual, "Last Days in the Desert" makes a unique turn of focusing it as a father-son story. That is where the flaws turn out. Driving the focus away from Jesus makes the story unjustifiable to explore and insincere to depict. However, the grandiose coming from Ewan McGregor's presence and the sense of struggle makes the journey satisfying. There could have been more depth to explore from a simple scripture about Jesus' 40 days in the desert, rather than adding a father-son subplot. But from what was offered, Garcia makes an interesting piece to talk about.