Jesus at the Movies: Crimes and Misdemeanors

“Crimes and Misdemeanors” was a movie directed by Woody Allen in 1989. It follows the lives of various people and their everyday affairs from Ophthalmologist Judah Rosenthal to documentary director Clifford. Each and every character in the film is Jewish and we often see Jewish traditions taking place throughout the movie whether it was a Jewish wedding or a traditional Seder (a Jewish meal). The two characters that I will look at today are the rabbi and the ophthalmologist, or otherwise known as, Ben and Judah. While Judah plays a larger role in the movie than Ben, it should be noted that Ben is a firm believer in YHVH, the Jewish God, and regularly follows his faith while Judah has deferred from his religious path and rarely implements his Jewish faith.
Being a Rabbi I can only assume that Ben was strict in his convictions and practiced all aspects of Judaism. He appeared to see God as a father, compassionate and caring ready to absolve people of their sins and listen to their triumphs as well as listen to their downfalls. While Ben emphasized love and appreciation for God, Judah went against his beliefs and committed unspeakable acts like adultery and essentially murder. As a child he was raised to believe in God and to follow his religious beliefs that God was a father, the creator of earth and the ruler of all but as he grew older he began to disobey Gods expectations and now I believe he sees God in a different light. One in which he is not as powerful and does not mean as much to the world or essentially Judah does not believe that if he commits such crimes as adultery and murder he will be punished by God. In other words he no longer sees God as a father or a parent but instead he sees him as a judge, critiquing his every move. While Judah and Ben are different when it comes to their beliefs about God they are similar in that they both believe he exists and they were both raised to practice their religious beliefs and not to defer from God’s path. However, the major difference is that Ben follows his religious convictions throughout every aspect of his life and Judah merely pushes those convictions aside in order to feel better about himself and make a bad situation more acceptable in his own eyes but not in the eyes of God.
Judah has changed over the course of his life and because of those changes I believe he is very random when it comes to his ideas of the role that God has in his life as well as the role God plays in the entire universe. Judah is a good man who did bad things, however, as we continue to watch the movie it appeared as if even though Judah committed those crimes he believed he was still okay in God’s eyes. At first he felt guilty and it got under his skin but after given a while to adjust he moved on with his life as we saw when everyone was at the party in the end of the movie. God does know what you have done but eventually he will forgive you making his actions random with respect to Judah’s life and as Judah see’s it with respect to all people. Being a rabbi it is quite obvious that Ben see’s God’s role in the universe as optimistic. He believes that God will forgive all those who ask for forgiveness and Ben looks for the happiness and positive aspects in all people, which is the very definition of an optimistic person. It has become quite clear that both Ben and Judah are extremely different people, however, they both believe God does exist it is only a matter of their dedication and commitment to God and his expectations that differ.
As a rabbi, Ben’s image of God greatly affects how he lives his life. Everyday he is expected to follow God’s word and to never deviate from his religious beliefs. Otherwise, he is supposed to follow all Jewish practices and preach the word of God to those who want to listen and he is discouraged from sinning or committing heinous acts. Basically, he is expected to live by the Tanakh or otherwise known as the Jewish bible. Ben has devoted his life to serving God and because of that devotion he will always be expected to follow God and ultimately this decision affects how he will live his entire life. By making the decision to become a rabbi, Ben also made the decision to not sin and to follow the word of God. It is expected of religious leaders like preachers, rabbi’s, and even the Pope to abide by these customs and therefore as long as they are religious leaders they will continue to live their lives in such a way that honors God. However, if Ben, being a rabbi, were to retire and no longer preach the word of God then he could in fact change how he lives his life, but that would be highly unlikely.
Like Ben, Judah was raised to believe in God, as seen by the flashback of Seder with his family. However, unlike Ben, Judah chose to go against his beliefs and commit wrongful acts. In spite of those acts, that does not mean that his image of God will remain the same thus forcing him to live his life as he is living it now. In the movie the director makes a point to show that Judah was raised to follow the Tanakh and to follow God. In this, the director is showing that it is possible for a person to change their beliefs whether it is for better or worse. Just because Judah deviated from his religious path does not mean that he cannot find God once again and change his life. Ultimately, Judah can change his views and therefore change the way he lives. However, if he continues to see God as just another being, one in which you do not have consequences for disobeying, then he is destined to live his life seeing God as a judge rather then seeing God as his father, or his savior.
The world is full of people who behave worse then Judah, who commit more terrible crimes and act recklessly with no regard for other people. However, as a citizen of this country and this world I have to believe that the good people out number the bad and therefore I have to believe that the universe is a friendly place. If we focus on all the crime and violence then it would be impossible to be happy and enjoy everything that the world has to offer so it is imperative that we look past those type of people and actions and focus on being a better human being, ultimately enjoying life and everything it has to offer.
While watching the movie it became apparent that both Judah and Ben have lived very successful and good lives thus far. Because they view God differently, they live their lives quite differently. Ben is a Rabbi and follows God no matter what happens. Even after going blind he continues to follow God and believe in him whole-heartedly. While Judah seems quite confused by what he believes in and he ultimately ends up making some bad decisions. However, that does not mean he cannot change his image of God and ultimately change his life. Both Ben and Judah provide a nice contrast in the film and allow the audience to learn about and understand two different views of God.