rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 2004
Directed by Mel Gibson; produced by Bruce Davey, Mel Gibson, Stephen McEveety; screenplay by Benedict Fitzgerald, Mel Gibson
Starring James Caviezel, Maia Morgenstern, Christo Jivkov, Francesco De Vito, Monica Bellucci, Mattia Sbragia
'The Passion of the Christ' is a film experience you will not soon forget. Whether you agree with what you see or not, whether you will be moved or not, whether you think it is great or total crap, you will remember it. I myself think it is a terrific film with some minor flaws, but made with real passion (in the modern sense of the word) and that is something that should be respected.
The final twelve hours from the life of Jesus Christ is what we see in this two-hour film. At least an hour and a half are filled with the torture and crucifixion of Jesus; it is a very, very violent motion picture. Still, when I was going in I was prepared for the most violent film ever. Although it probably is, there is not much more gore and blood than in your usual horror movie or, let's say, a 'Kill Bill'. The difference here is that it all happened to just one man and that is what makes it so horrible and painful to watch.
I can understand why people think it is too violent and that the violence distracts from the message. Some people say that we must focus on Jesus' teaching (even the 'South Park'-episode 'The Passion of the Jew' tells us this) but why Jesus was on earth is what this film is showing us. Whether you believe Jesus is the son of God or not doesn't matter. Director Mel Gibson believes this and he made a film about the purpose of that man.
That 'The passion of the Christ' is called anti-Semitic is something I do not understand. Sure, if you want it to be anti-Semitic there are probably enough moments you can use as your prove. But according to Christian believes, and therefore Gibson's believes, Jesus was born with a purpose. He was destined to die for our sins. And don't forget that there are good Jews in the film too, like Mary (Maia Morgenstern), Magdalene (Monica Bellucci) and John (Christo Jivkov) who stay with him the entire time.
Back to the film itself. Like I said I think it is terrific. The minor flaws I was referring to have to do with the appearance of Satan. Although it is done in a subtle way there are scenes where it was not necessary to let him appear. There are also some flashbacks. Some of them are useful and important to Jesus' story, but at least two others show Jesus with Mary and it didn't add much to anything. Maybe it wants to show that Jesus is just a man of flesh and blood, may be it is there as a little break from the violence. In my opinion the film could have done without them.
Other things are great though. The dialogue is in Aramaic and Latin making the film more authentic, the production design is pretty good, as are the costumes, the cinematography is beautiful, the score fits the action perfectly. Under Gibson's direction the main characters give some powerful performances. Especially James Caviezel as Jesus does a tremendous job. 'The Passion of the Christ' is a film people should see, may be for a lot of reasons, at least for the experience you will have.