Rotten Tomatoes Logo Do you want to see ‘The Book of Life’?
The Book of Life

The Book of Life (1998)

tomatometer

No Reviews Yet...

Release Date: Oct 10, 1998 Wide

audience

63

liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 1,308

My Rating

Movie Info

Hal Hartley directed this French-produced comedy about the Second Coming of Christ (Martin Donovan), with Thomas Jay Ryan in the role of Satan. While a gambler (David Simonds) and a waitress (Miho Nikaido) talk with Satan in a hotel bar, Jesus arrives at JFK airport with Magdalena (PJ Harvey). Jesus has been sent down to end the world by breaking the Seven Seals on a computer disk in a bowling alley locker room. Made in digital video blown up to 35mm, this film is part of the French "Collection

Unrated, 1 hr. 3 min.

Art House & International, Comedy

Hal Hartley

Nov 7, 2000

Cast

Critic Reviews for The Book of Life

All Critics (14) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (8) | Rotten (1) | DVD (1)

Anything touched by PJ Harvey is bound to be worth the trouble; even better, Hartley has made one of his better, least grating films.

August 29, 2004 Comment
Nick Davis
Nick's Flick Picks

Jesus-who's-come-again asks Himself soul-searching questions in what might've been called The Lack of Passion of the Christ.

April 7, 2004 Full Review Source: Mixed Reviews | Comment
Martin Scribbs
Mixed Reviews Source: Mixed Reviews

Hartley always underplays things, even when the world's about to end.

March 5, 2002 Full Review Source: MovieMartyr.com | Comment
Jeremy Heilman
MovieMartyr.com
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Book of Life

View All

Interesting low budget existential drama.

July 9, 2008
threefolddado
Anthony Valletta

Super Reviewer

Not the best of Hal Hartley. Some dialog was brilliant but overall the movie didn't work for me - it was rather boring and not really that funny.

April 10, 2011
GabrielKnight
Gabriel Knight

The Book of Life Quotes

View All

No quotes approved yet for The Book of Life. Logged in users can submit quotes.

DVD

Top Rentals

35% The Hangover Part II
25% Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Par...
81% Kung Fu Panda 2
44% Cowboys & Aliens
83% Rise of the Planet of the Apes
More…

New On DVD This Week

25% Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Par...
88% Lady and the Tramp
69% A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas
21% Fireflies in the Garden
45% The Rebound
More…

Latest News for The Book of Life

View All

What's Hot On RT

Critics Consensus
Critics Consensus

Journey 2 Not Worth the Trip

Luis Guzman
Luis Guzman

What are his 10 best movies ever?

<em>Amazing Spider-Man</em>
Amazing Spider-Man

See the all-new action-packed trailer!

The Avengers!
The Avengers!

Five new Marvelous pictures

Top Movie Quizzes

LEGO Mania: 2011 Best Picture Nominees
by natalie - 18,574 taken
created 12 months ago
How Much Do You Know About Leonardo DiCaprio?
by natalie - 44,474 taken
created 15 months ago
Pixar Movies!
by jdikwlzviv - 27,169 taken
created 15 months ago
The Wizards of Harry Potter
by jdikwlzviv - 27,665 taken
created 15 months ago

Movie News

View All

Featured on RT

Comments

Top Headlines

Fresh Links

Super Bowl Commercial Preview
Super Bowl Commercial Preview External Link
 Tecca profiles eight gametime ads that various companies have released before the big event!
15 Most Romantic Movie Moments
15 Most Romantic Movie Moments External Link
 BuzzSugar runs through a list of their favorite romantic moments to prep you for Valentine's Day.
Best Young Actress?
Best Young Actress? External Link
 Moviefone pores over awards statistics to crown this generation's best young actress!
50 Best Uses of Songs
50 Best Uses of Songs External Link
 Time Out NY brings us an awesome list of the 50 best uses of preexisting music in movie scenes!
Top 10 Freezing Cold Movies
Top 10 Freezing Cold Movies External Link
 With The Grey in theaters, TIME offers up 10 outstandingly chilly films!
Follow RT on Twitter!
Follow RT on Twitter! External Link
 Daily Tomatometer updates, interesting movie links, and vulgar jokes!
Help | About | Jobs | Newsletter | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Blog | Developers | Mobile
Copyright © Flixster, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy