Review of Christ – Hot Oil Covered Easter from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence of San Francisco | film

CEnnifer M Kroot’s Hunky Jesus, narrated by George Takei, is the opening event of this year’s BFI Flare, an LGBTQ+ filmmaking festival. It revolves around a gruesome annual talent contest for the most Jesus-like figure, in which the contestants are often anointed with oil, with some kind of buttocks not mentioned in the New Testament, and sometimes engage in a pole dance circling the cross, declaring that they want to be nailed and rise again.

It is staged every Easter in San Francisco as part of a lively and challenging celebration by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of lesbian nuns, performers and activists who, with great endurance and commitment, never seem to step out of character. And all in the cheerful spirit of Tom Lehrer’s comedic song The Vatican Rag.

In fact, watching this might require a bit of sustained immersion, especially since so much of it is just celebratory footage of the outdoor event. But there is pleasure in seeing this shallow, cheerful, genuinely enjoyable carnival, especially on the part of those vying for the parallel category of the Holy Virgin.

Of course, some in the church seem angry and disapproving, although it is not clear whether the sisters would have thought to mock other religions in the same way. One sister makes a valid point: “You don’t own Jesus. You don’t own Easter.” No, probably not, although one supportive clergyman here expresses his misgivings: “I have mixed feelings about the sexualization of Jesus.”

As to what the real historical Jesus would have thought, the sister sarcastically wonders if he didn’t feel like competing for the title himself and losing. (In fact, sexual assault and gender identity were certainly not of much importance to Jesus.) There is a strange seriousness that sometimes settles on those who talk about the event and on the nuns themselves, whose brand identity has grown over the decades: “The ministry has spread throughout the world.” But why not… when crude and humorless homophobia continues to spread as well?