FR MOVIE REVUE: THE PASSION OF CHRIST (post your comments here)

2/24/04 | FR MOVIE REVIEWERS

[Liz]

All the world is waiting for the powerful message in Mel Gibson's ground-breaking film, The Passion of Christ.

Post here your own personal reactions after seeing the film set to open tomorrow, Ash Wednesday. Passion has previewed in some areas.

Also post reviews and pertinent comments from your state and area's newspapers and publications.

[af_vet_1981]

This movie could be a wonderful reawakening for this Christian nation. One caution however, Mr. Gibson "hatred" of all things Protestant English makes him exagerate. One example, the British burning the congregation in a church in the film "Patriot". Never happened! Why would he put it in the movie?

Artistic license to inflame the audience against the British

[af_vet_1981]

Good review, thank you.

[Liz]

We welcome your contributions to the thread.

Please don't take this as a criticism or a put-down....it's merely an observation. Many people who consider themselves believers go through periods of questioning and indecision.

One of the books I recommend to those looking for answers is The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis. Offers an interesting perspective on what makes the world work, and the vagaries of human nature.

You don't have to be a believer to read it and it does not proselytize Christianity, or any religion for that matter, although Lewis was an Anglican Catholic convert.

[Liz]

....(Mel's) depiction of Satan is the smartest I've ever seen.....and has meaning for me that I'll explore for a long time. No horns, nothing too obvious ----A shade, a shadow, seduction oozing from every pore saying you can't, you don't need to, when you know you must to fulfill your personal destiny, to use your God-given gifts, to become what you know in your heart you were meant to be. That ever-present negative inner voice so subtle and pervasive you are not aware how it runs your life. Writer's block and more. Thank you, Mel.....

Sounds like for that characterization Mel read CS Lewis' The Screwtape Letters

[artios]

I was thinking about you analysis and how you decided to go or not to go. I wanted to add another thought to put into your decision making. It is true that the torture and death are not the whole story. But neither was his sinless life and ministry. In addition, his ministry after the resurrection is a major part of the truth as he is today the head of the church which is his body.

But here is my point to you - his sinless life and ministry did not save us - it was his sacrifice of himself as an offering for our sins that saves us. He died FOR OUR sins. (CAPS for emphasis only, not really yelling) His sinless life gave virtue to his sacrifice. So in conclusion it really is the sacrifice of his sufferings that is a key point and very worthy of watching:

Looking forward in time to the crucifixion Isaiah said "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

Looking backward to the finished work of Christ Peter said "24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."

[GraniteStateConservative]

The movie would be hours and hours and hours long if it included everything. Besides, Gibson wanted to focus on the great suffering Jesus endured so that we'd better appreciate the sacrifice and the gift of salvation that came with it.

[PoisedWoman]

Sounds like for that characterization Mel read CS Lewis' The Screwtape Letters

Aha! Yes, now that you mention it, I believe he mentioned that in the "Making" film. But I've never read Lewis, so didn't pick up on it.....I think I have a copy, will put it on top of the to-read pile. Thanks.

[Liz]

Please read it ASAP. Once you read TSL, life becomes less inexplicable, and interacting with antagonists in your life becomes easier. I've done a couple FR threads on The Letters.

And thanks for your delicious review.

[MineralMan]

"I was thinking about you analysis and how you decided to go or not to go. I wanted to add another thought to put into your decision making. It is true that the torture and death are not the whole story. But neither was his sinless life and ministry. "

Thanks. I'm very, very familiar with the story and what it means to Christians. I'm not a Christian, so it hasn't the same meaning for me. It is similar to numerous similar myths in several cultures, and I have a great interest in such mythology.

However, in deciding which movies I attend, a lot of factors come into play. While I have no doubt that this film graphically depicts one aspect of Jesus, it only depicts one aspect of the myth, and that's enough for me to skip the film.

I hope it proves valuable to others, but I'll not be there.

[veronica]

Will this film inspire ant-Semitism? I can't see how. The film evokes deep and powerful emotions, but anger and hatred are not among them.

So you have seen it?

[MineralMan]

"One of the books I recommend to those looking for answers is The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis. Offers an interesting perspective on what makes the world work, and the vagaries of human nature.

You don't have to be a believer to read it and it does not proselytize Christianity, or any religion for that matter, although Lewis was an Anglican Catholic convert."

---

Thank you for your suggestion. I've read the entire works of C. S. Lewis over the years, as part of my study of world religions. He is an interesting writer and a good thinker about his faith.

Some, however, might just take the message from the Screwtape Letters and apply it directly to Mel Gibson and his film. Perhaps it's worth another read, if you haven't read it for some years.

[xsmommy]

i am glad to read the age ranges for kids. my husband and i plan to take our 15 year old daughter and 12 and a half year old son, but leave the 9 yo daughter at home. she sobbed through the first LOTR, so i know there is no way she could handle this.

[commish]

What? Your not going to go to the movie and then write some screeching savaging that proclaims it to be nothing but a 2 hour slasher film? You not going to go into an indepth pschoanalysis of Mel Gobson's preoccupation with torture? Your not going to go into some rabid rant about how we are all going to come out of the theater as venom dripping Jew haters?

What are you? Are you not an athiest? How dare you not rip this movie to shreds!!!!

OH wait, You are a conservative, that means you have a brain and the intelligence to use it. My bad. ;-)

PS : Hope you don't mind me using you to vent about all the hyperventilating loonies out there.

[Blake#1]

If Gibson will do this to inflame against the British, why would he not do it against the Jews? He hates the British, tolerates the Jews? Very interesting!

[af_vet_1981]

If Gibson will do this to inflame against the British, why would he not do it against the Jews? He hates the British, tolerates the Jews? Very interesting!

That is one reason why it is so important he publicly repudiate his father Hutton's teaching and comments about Holocaust Denial and Antisemitism. It creates doubt as to why he made certain artistic decisions in the film where the New Testament is silent.

[ReasonGuy]

I saw the film recently for work-related reasons. Let me first add this disclaimer: I'm not a Christian, I honestly don't know much about Christianity, nor am I a militant atheist. I guess my religious views are best described as "I'm not religious."

Anyway, I think it's safe to say that if you're not a Christian this is a strange film. The first thing I said right after I saw it was: "Man, that was a weird film."

The film is unrelentingly violent. It's blood-soaked. Jesus gets so whipped you can see his ribs, blood spatters all over the cobblestones, and the sound is frighteningly realistic. And it doesn't stop after a pivotal scene or two - it goes on and on and on. Non-stop violence.

During the first couple of violent sequences, I winced and cringed. It was compelling and I was moved. By the time Jesus was dragging the cross to where he was going to be crucified, my attitude changed.

It's a long passage, and I know it's deeply symbolic to a lot of people, but it was grueling to watch, especially after already watching Jesus be whipped half to death. He drags the cross while enduring more whipping. There's a trail of blood on the ground behind him. He falls, gets up, falls, gets up, falls, over and over. I started to get distracted and I hate to admit it, bored. When was he going to get to wherever he was going? And would those guys whipping him leave him alone for a second so that he could get there more quickly?

When it comes to the crucifixion, Jesus doesn't just get his hands nailed to a cross, no - once he's nailed to the cross the Romans flip the cross over and Jesus lands face first into the ground. Yikes. Not very nice. Finally they prop up the cross and he dies pretty quickly after that, mercifully for the audience.

It didn't matter at that point. I was numb. I was well past the point of empathizing with the lead character. I just wanted the movie to be over.

All this is just to say, that for someone not familiar with the crucifixion story and all the deeply rooted theological meaning therein, this is a very unpleasant film, and as much as I hate to say it because it sounds blasphemous even to me, tedious.

As far as the anti-Semitism controversy goes, I think that if you go into the film as an anti-Semite, then you'll find plenty to justify the old "Jews killed Jesus" argument, but it's not as if the film is going to magically transform you into an anti-Semite. It's easy to watch the film and not even realize that the priests calling for Jesus execution are Jews. However, the priests really take delight in Jesus' torture, so it's difficult not to dislike them. Whatever.

The central message of the film seems to be: Jesus was not just a martyr, but a great martyr. He didn't just die for his cause, but he suffered a lot first, then died. The next message seems to be, if you're a follower of Jesus, then we should take revenge on whoever it was who killed him because they killed him in such a cruel and undignified way. Of course, the sensible person knows that there's no point in trying to avenge Jesus' death because the people who killed him are long gone.

To me, I wish I hadn't watched the film's unpleasant imagery in order to hear these two messages. Sorry this review is so long, and I sincerely hope no one is offended. Just reporting my experience. Wanted to add my $.02, hope it's helpful.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***Artistic license to inflame the audience against the British**

The British in that war were brutal!

[Skooz]

I'm not really a fan of books on tape, but John Cleese deserves an award for his magnificent reading of TSL on the audio book. I highly recommend it. It is not an abridgment, btw.

[safisoft]

the British burning the congregation in a church in the film "Patriot". Never happened!

To be fair, Mel never said it did. The Patriot was a collection of various stories from the Revolutionary War. The reality, is that the British DID do something very similar at Kings Mountain - they torched a tavern with people in it and did not let them escape. Mel's creative license was simply and RIGHTLY showing how shallow the British "gentlemen's" rules were. They were brutal, and history records that - and Mel rightly added to the picture for our understanding in that regard.

[stands2reason]

Why can't you just leave the Christians alone?