Choice: Film

Jesus of Montreal, Barbican Screen, London EC1 (0171-382 7000) 3.30pm

When Jesus Christ Superstar first appeared in London, it ran for eight years, but the recent revival shut up shop after 18 months. Evidently, Lord Lloyd Webber hasn't given up on the idea of Jesus, as his next show is Whistle Down the Wind. The story features an escaped convict who hides out in a barn where a group of children mistake him for Jesus. (Far-fetched but utterly plausible in Bryan Forbes's film version.) Yet, Denys Arcand's 1989 film beats most other cinematic depictions of Christ into a cocked hat. Lothaire Bluteau plays an actor who stages a local Passion Play. His contemporary retelling of the life and death of Christ causes ructions and finally enrages the local authorities; Arcand's film balances the irony strongly. It's even better than the 1969 TV film, Jesus, which featured a cameo by our very own TV guru Gerard Gilbert as the Angel who appeared to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.