Abstract

The article focuses on three recent films dedicated to the figure of Mary of Magdala from three different perspectives. The films are: "Mary" by Abel Ferrara (2005), "Mary Magdalene" by Garth Davis (2018) and "Magdala" by Damien Manivel (2022). The directors of the first two films, Ferrara and Davis, seem sensitive to the historiographical update induced by research on the “historical Jesusµ and feminist biblical exegesis. These are two strands of research that have an important place in redefining Magdalene’s role in the context of Christian origins. In the third film, Manivel depicts Magdalene by drawing on medieval legends and delivering to the audience a multifunctional female symbol: the image of a figure at once mystical and mythical. These films make interesting contributions to the history of the contemporary reception of the biblical character.