Messiah (1999) dir. William Klein

Klein’s emblematic satirical dissonance shines through in his take on George Frideric Handel’s Messiah, a gorgeous, layered vocal concert work that mixes the sacred with the profane. Performed in its entirety, the oratorio provides the narrative of Christ’s nativity, passion, and resurrection, against which Klein juxtaposes modern, international images of ritual, atrocity, and exultation. Exploring the music in relation to the lives of the people singing it, Klein shot the film in such far-flung locations as Dublin, Soweto, Jakarta, and Las Vegas, interspersing groups as disparate as the Lavender Light, the Dallas Police Choir, and Texas prison inmates with the dominant chorus, Les Musiciens du Louvre. This innovative work soars with jubilant music.