The Last Supper

Taken from: www.tbm.org/ dreams.htm

I just got a website from a news article and it shows the close up of the renowned painting, "The Last Supper", which was drawn by Leonardo da Vinci: http://www.haltadefinizione.com/en/cenacolo/look.asp

By visiting this website, you can see clearly every part of this painting.

The movie, Da Vinci Code, was directed by Ron Howard.  I was attracted by the book first as it was written by Dan Brown.  I enjoy reading Dan Brown’s books as he is diligent in doing a lot of research before writing his books.

In the Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown tells the story of the modern day quest for the Holy Grail.  The Grail itself is the secret bloodline of Jesus Christ, who married Mary Magdalene.  It is a secret the church has been suppressing for 2000 years and it is still trying to actively destroy it.  It involves a real secret society called the Priory of Sion which was founded by the descendants of Jesus. The members of this organisation include Sir Isaac Newton and Leonardo Da Vinci.  They are dedicated to preserving the Grail that they possess to this very day.

In the story, Robert Langdon, a Harvard Symbologist, meets a gifted French Cryptologist, Sophie Neveu.  They go through different areas like Paris and London in search of the Holy Grail.  The plot is intricate and it contains several climaxes which are thrilling to the audience.  There are several twists in the story when the two main characters decipher the codes one by one but the director tries to delete or simplify some of them like the first code of the cryptex, which is “ SOFIA ”.  It is disappointing to the readers of this book because what they enjoy most is being removed.  Maybe because of the time limit, the director needs to focus more on the explanation of the secret of the Holy Grail.

Though I like the book more than the movie, I think the director succeeded in three areas.  First, the casts of the movie are well selected like Sophie Neveu and the albino monk, Silas.  In my mind, Sophie is a smart and elegant lady who possesses a French accent when she speaks English and the actress, Audrey Tautou, plays aptly in this role.  The albino is violent and cynical in the book and the actor, Paul Bettany, also works very hard on his facial expression in representing this character.

Second, the director tries to explain the secret using the prestigious drawing of Da Vinci, the Last Supper.  In the movie, Sir Leigh Teabing uses the computer to illustrate the shape of “V” in the portrait vividly to elucidate the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene which cannot be done clearly by reading the novel.

Third, the director follows the plot accurately according to the novel.  Ron Howard tried to shoot the film at the real places where the book is set like the Louvre Museum .  The real paintings of Da Vinci are also used like Mona Lisa, the Last Supper and the Vitruvius Pollio.

As a Christian myself, I just treat Da Vinci Code as an imaginary novel which is thrilling, pulse-quickening and brain-teasing. I still firmly believe that Jesus Christ remained single all his life as recorded in the Bible.  I highly recommend this book or movie to you because of the intricate plot but not because of the “secret” behind. Once I asked a student about her opinion of this film and she said that she believed what’s said in the movie like Jesus did marry Mary Magdalene and there are descendants of Jesus and so on.  I was shocked at that time and I will keep praying for her and hope that one day she will believe in the Lord.