Martin Scorsese Reflects on Redemption: ‘You Have to Expose Yourself’

Published: December 2, 2024

Martin Scorsese Reflects on Redemption: ‘You Have to Expose Yourself’

By Movieguide® Contributor

Filmmaker Martin Scorsese says his faith allows him to see “beyond that which is the material.”

“You mention Christianity to many people today and they’re shocked,” he said in an interview with Fox News discussing his latest project, MARTIN SCORSESE PRESENTS: THE SAINTS.

Scorsese continued, “I mean, [people] looked at me and said, ‘You believe in that stuff?’ Anybody can make fun of Christianity today and it’s okay, but you can’t do it with other religions, or you’ll be pilloried if you do.”

The director then spoke about the rewards that come from boldly proclaiming your faith.

“To allow redemption — you know, in order to do that, you have to expose yourself,” Scorsese explained. “You have to risk failure and embarrassment and rejection. All of this, at any given moment. But that’s what gives you a way of possibly seeing more widely and deeply — widely and deeply, though and beyond that which is the material.”

THE SAINTS “follows the lives and legacies of saints like John the Baptist, who serve as examples of tenacity, courage and righteousness in the face of adversity,” Fox News reported. “The eight episodes will explore the lives of Joan of Arc, John the Baptist, Sebastian, Maximilian Kolbe, Francis of Assisi, Thomas Becket, Mary Magdalene and Moses the Black, with Scorsese and his team journeying over 2,000 years of history to focus on these extraordinary figures and their extreme acts of kindness, selflessness, and sacrifice.”

“I believe in the tenets of Catholicism,” he said in an interview with La Civilta Cattolica. “I’m not a doctor of the church. I’m not a theologian who could argue the Trinity. I’m certainly not interested in the politics of the institution. But the idea of the Resurrection, the idea of the Incarnation, the powerful message of compassion and love — that’s the key. The sacraments, if you are allowed to take them, to experience them, help you stay close to God.”

Scorsese continued, “When I was young and serving Mass, there was no doubt that there was a sense of the sacred…I remember going out on the street after the Mass was over and wondering: How can life just be going on? Why hasn’t everything changed? Why isn’t the world directly affected by the body and blood of Christ? That’s the way that I experienced the presence of God when I was very young.”