Armed with no more than his faith and quick wit, one man confronts the greatest powers on earth. Martin Luther's (Joseph Fiennes) bold actions foster an era of personal and religious freedoms unprecedented in history.
A young law student, Luther abruptly enters a monastery when he believes his life is spared during a violent lightning storm. His ambitious father is infuriated, and Luther turns to a spiritual mentor, Father Johann von Staupitz (Bruno Ganz). Luther proves an eager, apt disciple and is selected to travel to Rome on church business. Luther enters the holy city with the wide-eyed ideals of a young man -- only to have them shattered. Depravity is everywhere.
Here, Luther learns about "indulgences" that allow people to buy salvation for a fee and free themselves or deceased relatives from eternal damnation. Disillusioned by this profiteering he asks, "Is not salvation accessible to all?"
Luther is sent to study at the university in Wittenberg and later becomes a professor of theology. Among his staunch supporters is Prince Frederick the Wise (Peter Ustinov), who admirers Luther's courage of conviction -- even through his vociferous opinions are beginning to cause ripples.
In Rome, the new pope, Leo X, has mandated that funds be raised to build St. Peter's Basilica. The huge financial undertaking is to be financed by the sales of indulgences. The premiere "marketer" of indulgences, John Tetzel (Alfred Molina), preaches to German crowds about the hell fire awaiting their wretched souls should they forego this "special indulgence."
Luther is incensed at such naked manipulation, inspiring him to write 95 Theses, an essay he nails to the local church's door. His ideas are reproduced via the new Guttenberg printing press and quickly spread throughout Europe.
The Pope reacts angrily. Luther is to recant his heretical writings or face excommunication, trial by inquisition and likely death. The stage is set for confrontation. Luther stands defiant. A schism rips at the heart of the Church as the new "Protestant" movement begins.
With the ascent of new attitudes about religion and social order, the world is changed forever.
(37 votes)
2.
Like The Passion of the Christ, Luther is the story of a spiritual leader, German monk Martin Luther (Joseph Fiennes), in opposition to the religious orthodoxy of the time (in his case, the 1500s). His goal--to bring God to the people and to take money, fear, and shame out of the equation--made him a reformer to some, a heretic to others. Released around the same time as Mel Gibson's blockbuster, it failed to attract the same degree of attention--or controversy. Granted, it's a different film, but not radically so. Directed by Eric Till (Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace), Luther isn't always easy to follow or as emotionally involving as it could be. That said, it's a fascinating story and Fiennes receives solid support from Alfred Molina (Frida), Bruno Ganz (Wings of Desire), and the late Sir Peter Ustinov (Spartacus), in his final film role, as Frederick the Wise. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
(37 votes)
3.
Regional princes and the powerful church wield a fast, firm and merciless grip over 16th century Germany. But when Martin Luther issues a shocking challenge to their authority, the people declare him their new leader-and hero. Even when threatened with violent death, Luther refuses to back down, sparking a bloody revolution that shakes the entire continent to its core.
(36 votes)
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