G.I. Jesús (2006)
Average Rating: 5.7/10
Reviews Counted: 18
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 9
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 5.8/10
Critic Reviews: 7
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 3
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 2.6/5
User Ratings: 1,276
Movie Info
The American dream of a Mexican citizen who joined the U.S. military in order to gain citizenship fade into a waking nightmare when he returns from active duty in Iraq to discover just how drastically American culture has changed his wife and daughter. All Jesus wanted was to build a better life for his family. In order to do so, he signed up with Uncle Sam and went to defend the American flag on the front lines of Iraq. Now lamenting the fact that rampant consumerism and ravenous consumption
Cast
ADVERTISEMENT
All Critics (19) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (9) | Rotten (9)
[Director] Colpaert makes nice use of blue and green hues, and he makes some valid points about the Iraqi war. But the script lacks coherence and ends with a 180-degree flip that lessens the impact of what has gone before.
G. I. Jesus may be a mixed bag, but it is so impressive in so many ways that it demands to be taken seriously.
For such a gritty indie film, it's galling that [Arquette] and his family are so handsomely photogenic in a generic Hollywood way. Where's the rebellious truth in that?
The choices made by the characters are sure to infuriate some, but at least they add to the discussion.
The scattershot approach may not be masterful, but it does land some glancing blows.
Top CriticThis unruly hodgepodge of actual combat footage and Manchurian Candidate-style surrealism is a bold, often clumsy, but always intriguing piece of work.
Amateurish production values and unpolished writing hinder this occasionally touching portrait of Jesus (Joe Arquette), a Hispanic Iraq war vet returning to his wife and daughter.
G.I. Jesus is what a movie at a film festival should be -- creative, original, and challenging.
G.I. JESÚS isn't perfect but in its modest manner it is an ambitious and intriguing film. It is packed with topics ranging from immigration to the deployment of potentially ill men and women to the lack of proper care for veterans to the haunting effects
Writer-director Carl Colpaert brushes past the most interesting aspect of his own film.
Everything that GI Jesus wants to talk about is worth discussing [but] sadly the third act hits the movie like a torpedo, sending it slowly sinking into failure.
An ambitious set of scrappy performances combined with a screenplay that threatens to fragment from shear edginess. Succeeds only due to the pure sincerity of the cast.
At times beautifully captures the fear and paranoia that accompany soldiers home from war but that too often gets muddled in the morass of Jesus' internal wanderings.
Defiant anti-war metaphorical amalgam of US military martyrdom and boy toy gladiator servitude.
Like other underfunded indies ... G.I. Jesús plays more like a telenovela than a feature film.
An hour into things, G.I. Jesus takes a dramatic left turn, extending a middle finger to materialism and extolling the virtues of cheap beer and good Mexican food over the killing of innocents. It's a message that cuts across borders and politics.
... Colpaert has so vividly seized the contemporary moment, and explored it with his own eyes and conscience.
Audience Reviews for G.I. Jesús
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for G.I. Jesús yet.
What's Hot On RT
Pictures from a zombie nation
Woody Allen in San Francisco
See the Desolation of Smaug trailer!
Where does This Is the End rank?
Fresh Links
Featured
Movie: ID: 528394797 Title: G.I. Jesús Release Date: 2007-03-23 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 4 Status: 1
The Looks of Johnny Depp
To celebrate the star's birthday, BuzzSugar looks at the many faces of Johnny Depp.
10 Egregious Product Placements
Rolling Stone wonders if The Internship goes too far... then provides 10 examples of movies that did.
Horror Movie Mistakes
Moviefone offers up 8 of the most obvious glaring errors in popular fright flicks.
10 Bad Movies That Look Great
Sometimes even terrible movies can be beautiful; here are 10 of them, from HitFix.
50 Most Classic Movie Moms
In celebration of Mother's Day, TimeOut offers up 50 iconic matriarchs from the big screen.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
Featured on RT
- Video Interviews with Cast & Crew of Monsters University 0
- Digital Multiplex: 21 & Over, Quartet, and More 1
- RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Jack the Giant Slayer and Quartet 23
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Man of Steel Sets June Record 101
- Weekly Ketchup: Man of Steel Sequel In the Works 196
- Five Favorite Films with Joss Whedon 127
- Bonus Footage of the Cast & Crew of Man of Steel 1
Top Headlines
