The Jesus Guy

Watch the Movie for Free

If the video above isn't working, these sites offer the full film for free:

He looks like Jesus Christ. And preaches like St. Francis of Assisi. Some say he’s “a kook.” Others, “a blessing from God.”  Barefoot, and clad in a white robe, he’s walked through 47 states [and 13 countries] on a 16-year mission that’s captured media attention from 20/20, Time and the Wall Street Journal. Yet who is this solitary figure who inspires faith – and attracts controversy?

The Jesus Guy covers the mystical journey of America’s “Barefoot Evangelist.” In a nation that worships money, he’s penniless. In a culture that idolizes celebrities, he’s forsaken his identity. Now, on a spiritual quest even he doesn’t fully understand, his faith – and your own – will be tested every step of the way.  With the intimacy of single-camera filmmaking, Director Sean Tracey allows us to walk in “The Jesus Guy’s” steps as he encounters both skeptics and believers, changing them…for better, for worse, forever.

I first learned about him in an article in TIME, dated February 2000. The article was titled, “Appalachian Apostle.” People who had heard of him or met him called him everything from Jesus, to the Jesus guy, to the anti-Christ. He called himself, “What’s Your Name?” He said it referred to the mystery and the meaning of our names, how they often are too important, and to our relationship with God. He talked of the story in the Old Testament where Moses stood in front of the Burning Bush and asked God, “What’s Your Name?” TIME said his name had been Carl Joseph.

Many months went by as I tried to salvage what was left of my once thriving commercial production business. Ever since I worked with Albert Maysles at Maysles Films’ penthouse offices at 54th and Broadway in NYC, I always wanted to make a documentary film, or so I thought. I also always used the excuse that I didn’t have the time, I was making too much money and had too much career momentum in commercials, and that I hadn’t found the right subject. None of these excuses
worked any more.

It seemed the further I buried the little one-page article about the “Appalachian Apostle,” the more it reappeared at the top of my pile of “things to do.” Finally, I set an intern to finding the man. He started by trying to contact the writer of the TIME article. That proved to be a task unto itself. The magazine, it seems, didn’t know where to find its own correspondent, or they weren’t fond of giving out info about their writers.

Three months later, I had an email address for the writer, Fred Mogul. A month after that, we spoke on the phone. He gave me the names of a couple of people who knew “What’s Your Name?” better, Father Angelo and a guy named Sam Lesante. The writer didn’t say much when asked point blank whether he thought What’s Your Name? was a charlatan. He did say he felt badly about besmirching him with what he called “journalistic distancing” when he said toward the conclusion of his article that “an air of disingenuineness hung about him.” He apologized to me for this comment (why me?) and said he really didn’t feel that way, but that it’s what his editors would like to read to prove that he (the writer) was objective and not a religious fanatic himself.

Learn More

IMDb “He looks like Jesus Christ. And preaches like St. Francis of Assisi. Some say he's "a kook." Others, "a blessing from God." Barefoot, and clad in a white robe, he's walked through 47 states [and 13 countries] on a 16-year mission that's captured media attention from 20/20, Time and the Wall Street Journal. ” more »

Related Films

The Atheism Tapes: Arthur Miller
The Atheism Tapes: Colin McGinn
The Atheism Tapes: Daniel Dennet
The Atheism Tapes: Denys Turner
The Atheism Tapes: Richard Dawkins
The Atheism Tapes: Steven Weinberg
Blind Faith
Brother Born Again
Father Thomas Keating: The Contemplative Life
Flicker
Hippie Masala
India and the Infinite: The Soul of a People
Inside Mecca
Inside the Vatican
Islam: What The West Needs To Know
Islamic Mysticism: The Sufi Way
Jerusalem
Jerusalem: Within These Walls
Living Goddess
Naming Prairie
No Child is Born a Terrorist
Oakland Cemetery: Atlanta’s Jewish Tradition
Pope John Paul II - A Saint For Our Times
Ram Dass: Answering Life’s Questions
Reel Works: Beware of God
Requiem for a Faith
Rising from the Ashes
Sisters of Ladakh
Trembling Before G-D