Tonight, on St. Patrick's day, I went to go see Mel Gibson's The Passion of Christ. So, what does The Mighty Wizard think? Well gentle readers, read on...
The story primarily covers the last 1 - 2 days of Christ's life. Flashbacks are employed here and there to show times and events of the life of Jesus. The film was shot in an earthy, slightly darkish tint, which makes the film have a "historical" flavor which I enjoyed. The film is not spoken in English, but either what I took to be Latin, Hebrew, or Aramaic.
And speaking of history, the film gives a reasonably good account of the politics and overall situation that led to Christ's Crucifixion. The Jewish leaders are suitably upset over Christ's sensational appeal. Judas takes his payoff, but once he sees what's going down, he tries to renege on what he has done. Pilate is painted as a man who finds himself in a bit of a bind over what to do with The Messenger.
Besides the controversy that will always surround any artistic depiction of the Life of Christ, the main element of talk revolves around the bloody portrail of Jesus' last days. The film graphically shows the beating and torture that Jesus took at the hands of his fellow Jews and their Roman rulers. It was nearly tearful watching The Virgin Mary, accompanied by Jesus' brother James and the other Mary, follow her Son as He lives His final days. There is a reason why this film was called The Passion.
To be honest though, I didn't really like the film. I would give it perhaps a 6 out of 10. The emphasis on blood and Martyrdom, in my view, took away from the awe and inspiration that the story of Christ is meant to convey. Some of the flashback scenes show Christ giving his messages to his Apostles, but again the emphasis on blood seems to drown out the messages of Hope, Love, and Comfort. Only the message of Forgiveness seems to come through.
The acting in the film was reasonably good. Although I didn't catch names, the fellow who portrayed Christ was right on. Herod makes an appearance as a somewhat effete figure. In several scenes, there is an androgynous figure who follows Christ doggedly, which I took to be Satan. The final scene with the Satan figure shows "him" alone, looking upwards, and screaming. In the war over our souls, we know who won that Game.
And with that, I would say that the film merits a look. But when you are done, if you haven't already done so, go sit down and read (or reread) The Gospels and their story of THE REAL DEAL. The Bible is the one book which has been, and always will be, better than any movie.
Posted by The Mighty Wizard at March 17, 2004 11:56 PM