Scorsese’s The Saints: Some Go Marching In, While Others March Off

"With its first episode, The Saints was thus off to a good start. However, the series quickly took a nosedive in its presentation of St. John the Baptist."

From Crisis

By Monica Miller, PhD

Martin Scorsese’s “The Saints” is an uneven treatment of great Saints, alternating from spiritually edifying to factually inaccurate and even disrespectful.

“I believe in the tenets of Catholicism. I’m not a doctor of the church. I’m not a theologian who could argue the Trinity. I’m certainly not interested in the politics of the institution,” the director said. “But the idea of the Resurrection, the idea of the Incarnation, the powerful message of compassion and love—that’s the key. The sacraments, if you are allowed to take them, to experience them, help you stay close to God.” 

The above quote is from well-known film director Martin Scorsese, given during a 2016 interview with Jesuit Fr. Antonio Spadaro, editor of the journal La Civiltà Cattolica. I think we can take Scorsese at his word that Catholicism is important to him. He was raised in a devoutly Catholic home, influenced in his youth by Catholic priests, and even entered a seminary, only to leave after one year. However, in the same interview Scorsese admits that he would not describe himself as a “regular church-goer.” Moreover, more recently Scorsese assured us that he doesn’t intend to fully embrace the Faith anytime soon. In a statement made by Scorsese in a clip bundled in The Saints special features, he remarked: 

Faith is a question that I don’t think is ever answered.... We can never really know, ultimately, who and what we are. Faith is accompanied by doubt, and I’ve come to understand that we have to live with this doubt. I’ve come to understand that faith and doubt are inseparable. They almost become the same thing.

It is fair to say that Scorsese’s “irregular” practice of Catholicism very much influences his approach to filmmaking. With dozens of films to his credit, Scorsese’s Catholic ambivalence is evident in films such as the 2016 Silence based on the book by Japanese novelist Shūsaku Endō, a film reviewed by this author, and most evident in his highly controversial 1988 film The Last Temptation of Christ.

And we can expect another depiction of Jesus contrary to the Gospels if Scorsese ever releases A Life of Jesus—also based on a Shūsaku Endō novel—a film which, for now, is stalled in production. Here, in an attempt to make Jesus more likable to Endo’s fellow Japanese, God is given maternal characteristics to emphasize that the God of western religion is, after all, a God of love and forgiveness; Judas is the only one who really understands Jesus’ mission, the rest of the apostles are referred to as “stupid” and “nincompoops” who only follow Christ because they think He will expel the Romans. 

Orthodox. Faithful. Free.

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Thus, what can we expect from The Saints, Scorsese’s current project airing on Fox Nation? An ambitious docu-drama effort, the series features eight Catholic saints in eight separate episodes divided into two installments. The first installment, already begun, features St. Joan of Arc, Nov. 17th; St. John the Baptist, Nov. 24th; St. Sebastian, Dec. 1st; and St. Maximilian Kolbe, Dec. 8th. The final four episodes will air in April and May 2025, spanning the Easter season and featuring St. Francis of Assisi, St. Thomas Becket, St. Mary Magdalene, and St. Moses the Black. 

With Scorsese as the producer and narrator, the series is directed by Elizabeth Chomko and written by Kent Jones. Each episode is about 45 to 50 minutes, followed by a panel discussion led by Scorsese in conversation with Mary Karr, an award-winning poet and the author of The Liar’s Club, a best-selling memoir, who converted to the Catholic Faith in 2019; author Paul Elie, a senior fellow with the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and the director of the American Pilgrimage Project; and yes, Jesuit Fr. James Martin—who needs little introduction to the readers of this magazine.

However, for those not acquainted with him, he is a very controversial figure known for his promotion of the LGBTQ+ agenda, who urges a change in Catholic teaching regarding the immorality of homosexual relationships and who, on December 19, 2023, a day after the Vatican issued Fiducia Supplicans, blessed a homosexual couple, making sure his action was covered by The New York Times. But, more about Fr. Martin later.

This reviewer watched the first two of the eight installments—namely, St. Joan of Arc, followed by St. John the Baptist, so that I could get a sense for where this series is headed. The first episode on Joan of Arc was indeed very encouraging. It was, in two words, a truly “faith-based” presentation. Joan’s interaction with angels and saints was taken seriously. The historical background on the politics of the day was accurate. Actress Liah O’ Prey, who was born in Spain, played Joan and gave a strong, convincing portrayal of “Joan the Maid” who, despite all attempts by the English clergy to wear her down, in the end refused to deny that her mission was from God. Indeed, this first episode contained a true sense of piety and respect for Joan’s Catholic Faith. And, I am happy to report, viewers may breathe a sign of relief—Joan is not given the post-Christian, woke treatment depicting her as transgender, a lesbian, or a feminist. 

For anyone not acquainted with this great saint, this episode would be a good place to start—as it was a factual meat-and-potatoes introduction to the life of the Maid of Orleans. Moreover, the film paid homage to supernatural elements that, frankly, one would not expect from a Scorsese enterprise. After Joan dies, being burnt at the stake, Scorsese narrates: “It was said that when Joan gave up the ghost, a white dove was seen soaring into the sky.” And a white dove is seen doing just that. This is followed by more Scorsese narration: 

The story was told that after the fire went out, her body reduced to ashes, all except her heart which was completely intact and filled with blood. The executioner doused it with oil, charcoal, and sulfur and still it would not burn. When monks reproved the executioner, he said: “I have burned a holy woman.” 

Among other issues taken up by the panel discussion was the verification of Joan’s virginity. Oddly and disturbingly, the movie depicted Joan twice being physically examined by nuns who verified that indeed she was “intact.” These episodes seemed quite gratuitous. This author has read two book-length biographies on Joan of Arc and such examinations were not included among the numerous prison humiliations Joan was made to endure. 

Commentator Karr criticized the medieval world for its obsession with female virginity. Well, to his credit, it was Fr. Martin who defended the “obsession” explaining that virginity was a sign of spiritual purity and also a way for women to exercise personal “self-definition” contrary to conventional roles expected of women. Martin’s commentary is historically confirmed, as many female saints embraced consecrated virginity for love of Christ, defying the wishes of their parents, such as St. Cecelia, St. Agnes, and St. Catherine of Siena. 

With its first episode, The Saints was thus off to a good start. However, the series quickly took a nosedive in its presentation of St. John the Baptist. I watched the second episode on November 24th with six friends, all of whom take their Catholic Faith seriously. Within the first ten minutes, we were all quickly turned off. One viewer correctly described this installment as “oppressive, grim, gloomy, and dark.” Whatever sources Kent Jones relied on for his version of John, it’s hard to imagine that he and the director were the same artists behind the Joan of Arc episode.  
Completely missing was St. Luke’s infancy narrative on the conception and birth of John—there was no unborn John who leaped with joy in his mother’s womb in the presence of the unborn Jesus. John comes from the Levitical tribe, but as a teenager his father, Zechariah, tells him the Levites and the Sadducees are corrupt and need to be opposed. This leads John to reject his Levite identity and sends him literally on a path of discovery regarding his role and his mission, during which he stumbles into a member of the Essenes—a separatist Jewish sect dedicated to preparing for the coming of the Messiah. 

John is played by actor Yahya Mahayni, known for his performance in the 2021 Oscar-nominated film The Man Who Sold His Skin. His John is a depressed, unhappy, angry personality, dripping with vitriol. According to Scripture, John is Jesus’ cousin, but oddly this John doesn’t even know who Jesus is. Influenced by his encounter with the Essenes, he suddenly discovers his mission as the precursor to the Messiah after taking a much-needed bath in perhaps the river Jordan—sorely needed because he is absolutely filthy—and in fact always appears dirty from head to toe—a filth that only gets worse especially after he is imprisoned.  

Indeed, many if not all of the saints in this docu-drama are dipped in this bodily filth—as one can see in the individual trailers. It is uncertain what point The Saints intends to make about the saints. Perhaps this is a way to obtain historical authenticity—that people were just filthy dirty before the invention of indoor plumbing? Or, perhaps it is some sort of spiritual metaphor—that the saints are people of this world, just like everybody else, contrary to their sentimental and sanitized holy cards? 

Perhaps Scorsese gives us a hint as to why all the dirt when, in a November 15th Fox Nation interview, he stated, “What is a saint? Is it something superhuman? Can they achieve something easier than we can because we’re human beings? I realized, ‘No.’ The point is they’re human.” Even so, it makes no sense that John, who spends a lot of time waist-deep in water, continues to look as if he needs a good bath. 

The episode fails to incorporate the Gospel accounts of John’s preaching. He is shown time after time shouting “Repent!” at those coming to him for baptism—and of course he publicly accuses Herod of adultery—but, contrary to Scripture, even frequently goes so far as to refer to Herodias and Salome as “whores.”

Finally, Jesus comes to John for baptism—and John, who has never seen Him before, recognizes the Messiah. The only time the script has John actually quote the Gospels is in his relationship to Jesus, when he says: “I am not worthy to untie his sandal straps”; “It is you who should be baptizing me”; and “While I baptize with water, one is coming who will baptize with fire.” That’s it. Omitted is the descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove with the voice of the Father declaring, “You are my beloved Son on whom my favor rests.” Here, as Scorsese did with the dove that appeared upon the death of Joan of Arc, he could have at least narrated that, according to Scripture, such an announcement by God took place, affirming the identity of Jesus.

Due to John’s public accusations against Herod, he is finally arrested and imprisoned and—despite Salome taking on the hideous aspect of a zombie—this is the strongest segment of the installment. However, nothing can redeem this John the Baptist episode from Mahayni’s dark, unsympathetic interpretation of John as essentially a tortured soul. But perhaps it is not entirely the actor’s fault. John the Baptist of The Saints is not the John of the Gospels. He is the John of Endo’s A Life of Jesus. According to an exhaustive review of Endo’s novel: 

Jesus continues to teach along with his disciples, yet Endo makes a point of contrasting the manner of Jesus’ teaching with that of John the Baptist. While the Baptist’s teaching was fiery (he is often quoted as saying “you brood of vipers!”) Jesus’ teaching is much more loving. He uses parables to do his teaching and never does his language reflect that of his mentor John the Baptist … [Endo] describes the fiery figure of John the Baptist as practically yelling at the crowds when he preaches…On the other hand Endo always depicts Jesus as a very soft-spoken person who never uses language like that. Jesus talks in parables, heals the sick and is able to feel the suffering of humanity.

This contrast is announced in Scorsese’s narration when he says: “Jesus preached love, redemption and forgiveness, compared to John who wants justice.” During the panel discussion, Scorsese again emphasized this difference between Jesus and His precursor.

This is actually a throwback to a problem that affected the early Church as seen in the second-century gnostic/dualist teachings of the heretic Marcion. John, as the “last” of the Old Testament prophets, is on the side of the God of the Old Testament, the deity of anger, war, wrath, and judgment—and the God of matter—contrary to the preaching of Jesus in the New Covenant: the God of love, understanding, comfort, peace, and the Spirit. Thus, Marcion threw out the Old Testament canon. Never mind that Jesus Himself had plenty of hard words for the Pharisees, calling them “whitened sepulchers, full of filth and dead men’s bones” (Matthew 23:27), and the Jews who opposed Him—telling them “The father you spring from is the devil”…who “willingly carry out his wishes” (John 8:44).   

Elie affirmed during the panel discussion that Jesus was both divine and human—thus it should not be a surprise that, as the Christ, He would be attracted to religious rituals. This indicates that viewers can expect a measure of orthodoxy from this commentator. And again, Fr. Martin made credible insights in discussing the relation of Jesus to John, especially on the point of why Jesus would submit to John’s baptism. Martin explains that Jesus wishes to show his solidarity with mankind, even to the point of “standing in line.” So, while Martin is not known for his orthodoxy when it comes to Catholic sexual ethics, as far as his contribution to The Saints is concerned—so far so good—but there are six more episodes to go!

If the first episode was well done—historically accurate and even spiritually edifying—and the second episode so off the biblical record, I think it is fair to conclude that The Saints will present an uneven account of its subject matter, meaning that not every installment can be trusted to reflect historical facts and spiritual truths. It’s going to be hit and miss. I would predict that, indeed, it is the saints whose lives are recorded in Scripture who will receive the most loose and revisionist treatment due to the absence of a non-extra biblical historical record for which the filmmakers may have more respect and by which they can be held accountable. 

So, God knows what The Saints will do to Mary Magdalene. But perhaps we will be surprised. This reviewer is not dis-recommending viewership of the Scorsese project—only warning that, depending on the episode, you may be disappointed, disedified, and even angry that the saints of the Catholic Church were given such shabby and shameful treatment—of which the John the Baptist episode was certainly an indication. 

Discussing the project at a November 15th private screening in New York City, Scorsese said that he embarked on this project to show that the saints provide “a good example to follow or to inspire us.” Let’s hold out some hope that the remaining episodes of The Saints will follow the pattern of its Joan of Arc kick-off presentation and do just that!