"Passion of the Christ", another review

by MegaDude 22 Replies latest jw friends

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  Mary

  There's only two reasons why this movie will make any money.

  1. Mel Gibson is the Director. If it were Joe Blow off the street, no one would even bother to go see it.

  2. The violence and anti-Semetic theme are sure to offend some, if not many. People are warned that it's "too violent". I saw one headline that said "More gore than God" and that children should not be allowed to go see it. Whenever something is deemed "controversial" or "offensive", people flock to it as though it were the last movie on earth. There's been many other movies about Jesus that were not directed by Mel Gibson or have the blood and gore that this one apparently has and they most certainly were not run-away hits. Without Mel Gibson's name added to it, this movie would never be in all the headlines.
• 

  gitasatsangha

  Mary,

  I'll reserve my opinion on it, till I see it. I think it would have made noise, whoever had made it, because it's a $30,000,000 self financed film. That's kinda rare. Also the use of Aramaic and Street latin would have given it some attention, (like William Shatner's Bizarre Christian-themed movie "Succubus" filmed entirely in Esperanto).
• 

  Elsewhere

  Its amazing just how inhuman man can treat man

  I have a "Coffee Table Book" called Inferno. It serves as a reminder to me of what humans are capable.

  Inferno by James Nachtwey (Author)

  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0714838152/103-4298732-4942263
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  Kenneson

  I went see the movie last night and did not come out of the theater being anti-Semitic. If anyone's anti-Semitism is fueled by this movie it is because he came into the theater already anti-Semitic. The movie portrayed the Romans as being much more brutal and violent than the Jews. Yet I have heard no one call it anti-Roman. Everyone was equally to blame for Jesus' death is the message that I received. When I saw the Ten Commandments for the first time I didn't come out of the theater being anti-Egyptian either--and I know no one who did. So all this talk about anti-Jewish reaction is just that. Anti-Semites have been in our midst way long before this movie appeared and I doubt it will create new ones.
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  Yerusalyim

  The violence and anti-Semetic theme are sure to offend some, if not many.

  Mary,

  You've made the presumption that this is anti-semetic...how, without first seeing it? As to the violence, if it's realistic, it might serve to remind us humdrum christians like myself what the price paid really was...our clean crosses do not do justice to the horror of crucifixion.
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  Mary

  Yerusalem said: You've made the presumption that this is anti-semetic...how, without first seeing it? I don't think it's any secret that the film shows that the Jews (as a whole) were responsible for assisting in sending Jesus to His death at the hands of the Romans. And for the most part I agree that it's not going to make someone suddenly hate Jews--at least adults. I read in the my local newspaper this morning that some poor Jewish kid in school was told by some other kids yesterday "You people killed my God!". And where would he learn that from I wonder? What could happen is that lunatics (like Mel Gibson's father) who apparently already have an axe to grind with the Jewish race, can start stirring others who already have similar beliefs and the next thing you know, Synagogues are being vandalized, Jewish kids are being harassed at school, etc. As to the violence, if it's realistic, it might serve to remind us humdrum christians like myself what the price paid really was...our clean crosses do not do justice to the horror of crucifixion. I agree that Jesus died a horrible, painful death for all of us----however, from the reviews I've read so far, the movie goes way overboard. The whipping scene that lasts something like 30 minutes on screen is a gross exageration. Roman law at the time allowed for "40 strokes", less the person die before being cruxified (although many died even from 40 strokes). I have no problem with them showing that Jesus suffered horribly for mankind, but to take it to such an extreme is, IMHO, really pushing the envelope.
• 

  berten

  >...I agree that Jesus died a horrible, painful death for all of us...

  Not for me and lots of other non-christians.Like I said in another thread I am not going to see

  Mr -Mad Max- Gibson's celluloid ego-trip,his catholic wet dream.

  What "Passion" anyway? This Christ is being depicted by fundie-christians (Like Gibson)

  as a sexless,penisless man,simply because they are all so hung up on all things sexual.

  (He was not even married according to them.)

  So they compensate -so to speak- by getting off on this suffering and pain of this Christ-figure,

  and elevate it to something highly spiritual.Sorry guys and gals;I call it *sick*.

  There's much better stuff out there like: "Life Of Brian","Last temptation","il Vangelo Secondo Matteo".

  I prefer these instead of this SadoMasochistic SufferFest...
• 

  patio34

  I was a bit curious about the costuming, Mel being some sort of Catholic. In a commercial, it looked as if the women were dressed like nuns in a blackish habit with a white rim. That doesn't seem to be accurate for the times and then I wondered about the rest of the credibility. What did you think, MegaDude--did they have on nun-like costumes?

  I am not going to see it for more reason than its violence. Being an atheist and having read credible arguments that such a person didn't exist, there doesn't seem much point to see it. As you said MegaDude, "it's not entertainment."

  Cheers!

  Pat
• 

  MegaDude

  Patio,

  It didn't cross my mind about the costuming of Mary being like a nun but in retrospect I wouldn't be surprised if it was deliberate. Gibson is a staunch ultra Catholic that belongs to some small sect that rejects even Vatican II.

  There's much better stuff out there like: "Life Of Brian","Last temptation

  "Last Temptation of Christ" is one of my favorite films.
• 

  patio34

  Thanks Mega!