On Maundy Thursday
Filmmuseum shows “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” before Good Friday
04/15/2025 – 02:17 a.m.Reading time: 2 min.
Targeted provocation or unfortunate timing? The Filmmuseum in Munich shows the “Life of Brian” religious satire on Maundy Thursday. The background.
On Maundy Thursday, one day before the highest Christian holiday, the Filmmuseum on St. Jakobs-Platz in Munich shows the controversial satire “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” in its “Open Scene”. The most famous film of the English comedian group around Graham Chapman, John Cleese and Terry Gilliam runs on April 17 at 7 p.m. – a timing that can be understood as a provocation.
In the religious comedy, Brian Cohen von Nazareth, born by Jesus, actually ends on the same night. Against his will, he is thought to be the Messiah, and every attempt to clarify the misunderstanding fails. Every banality is interpreted by the euphoric quantity as a “sign” – as a miracle of Brian.
The film triggered sharp protests after its publication in Christian and Jewish associations. The controversy led to performance banks in the United States, the United Kingdom and Norway and sparked debates about freedom of expression and blasphemy. The fact that the film is now returning to the screen shortly before Good Friday could be seen as a conscious allusion to this story.
After more than forty years, “The Life of Brian” is an astonishing political film about mass phenomena, which shows with dry British humor how difficult it is to get out of the world.
Entry costs six euros, reduced four euros for members of the MFZ support association. Tickets are available online or at the box office, which opens 60 minutes before the start of the introduction. Reservations are not accepted. The cinema is accessible in a wheelchair accessible and equipped with an induction loop for hearing impaired.
