| Mary | |
| Director: | Abel Ferrara |
| Producer: | Roberto De Nigris David Hausen Fernando Sulichin |
| Starring: | Juliette Binoche Forest Whitaker Marion Cotillard Matthew Modine Heather Graham |
| Music: | Francis Kuipers |
| Cinematography: | Stefano Falivene |
| Editing: | Patrizio Marone Adam Mcclelland Fabio Nunziata Langdon Page Julia Ruell |
| Studio: | Central Films |
| Distributor: | Pan Europeene (France) IFC Films (USA) |
| Runtime: | 94 minutes |
| Country: | Italy France United States |
| Language: | English Hebrew French |
Mary is a 2005 drama thriller film, written and directed by American director Abel Ferrara. The film stars Juliette Binoche, Forest Whitaker, Marion Cotillard, Matthew Modine and Heather Graham.
The film premiered at the 2005 Venice Film Festival where it won the Special Jury Prize as well as 3 smaller awards. The film also played at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival, Deauville Film Festival and San Sebastián International Film Festival.
Although co-produced by an American and French film company and shot in English and partly in the United States, the film has been little seen outside of Europe, and does not have a Region 1 DVD release. It received a limited theatrical release in America a full 3 years after premiering at the Venice Film Festival. The film has 3 European non-English language websites, but no English language website.UK DVDs use the title Mary: This is My Blood.
Following the shooting of a film on the life of Jesus called This Is My Blood, Marie Palesi, the actress who plays Mary Magdalene takes refuge in Jerusalem in search of the truth behind the story, while the film's director, who also plays Jesus, returns to New York to aggressively promote the film.The film within a film is drawing public controversy for reasons that are never directly specified, but some scenes in the film draw on the non-canonical Gnostic Gospels, while there are public allegations that the film is anti-Semitic for reasons that are not given.In New York, television journalist Ted Younger (Forest Whitaker) is presenting a series of programs about the life of Jesus, and chooses to interview the film's director. Privately, Younger is having a crisis of faith.
Upon its release Mary immediately divided critics and viewers alike, it holds a 59% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 17 reviews, with an average score of 5.5/10.[1]
The original soundtrack was written by Francis Kuipers.
Recorded at Herzog Studios, Rome (Italy)
The French poster for Mary features a woman praying at an altar. The image was taken in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The film was the first film to be allowed film in the actual church.