Black Jesus Italian Film With Religious Symbolism

Black Jesus was the unofficial title of an Italian film released in 1968, titled Seduto alla sua destra. The film portrayed the imprisonment and torture of an African rebel leader at the hands of a dictatorial regime. The literal translation of the original Italian title into English means Seated at His Right.

The plot of the film Black Jesus deals with the harrowing experiences of a Congo rebel leader, Maurice Lalubi. He tries to protest against the cruelties of a military regime by passive resistance but is arrested by the police and thrown into jail. In prison, Lalubi comes into contact with two other inmates, one of whom is a soldier and the other a common Italian thief.

The film Black Jesus builds up a painful climax as it details the tortures and interrogation practices faced by all the three prisoners. The captors devise excruciating ways to break them physically as well as mentally. At the same time, however Lalubis death might at the hands of the regime might stir fresh trouble for the establishment and transform Lalubi into a martyr for the people.

Black Jesus has been thought to be loosely based on the life and struggles of the African leader, Patrice Lumumba. The film makes repeated use of religious symbolism in drawing parallels between the actual African leader and Christ. Like Jesus, Lalubi is shown using passive resistance to fight the forces of evil, here represented by the military regime as well as the underpinnings of colonialism. The presence of the other two prisoners further strengthens the parallels between Jesus and Lalubi.

The main cast of the film Black Jesus included Woody Strode in the lead role of Maurice Lalubi. The role of the Commander is played by Jean Servais and that of the prisoner by Stephen Forsyth. Other members of the cast include Franco Citti as Oreste, Pier Paulo Capponi as the Officer and Salvatore Basile, Silvio Fiore in other roles.

The film Black Jesus was directed by Valerio Zurlini who also wrote the screenplay together with Franco Brusati. The film traveled to the United States during the 1968 Chicago International Film Festival but was released for the public in 1971. The film was originally filmed in the Italian and French languages but was later dubbed into English for its release in countries like USA and UK. The filming was done in places like Africa as well as Rome and Lazio in Italy. Title