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Movie: The Passion of the Christ (2004)
Director: Mel Gibson
Players: Jim Caviezel, Monica Bellucci
Grade: A-
Have you been paying attention to the news lately? Mel Gibson’s new film The Passion of the Christ has been stirring up quite the controversy. Being in a melting pot like New York City, I am able to see how something as harmless as a movie can cause so much personal grief among different religions. People seem to forget that a movie is just a movie. When the subject is controversial, like religion, you need to keep in mind that the story is just one person’s opinion. Mel Gibson has always been open about the fact that he’s heavily involved and passionate about his faith. What’s so wrong about making a movie about something you love?
This movie is about the death of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. The main issue that is causing controversy is that some think the film is anti-semitic, meaning that Gibson makes the Jews look like the bad guys. Another issue is that some think Gibson has gone overboard with the amount of gore depicting Jesus’ last few hours. I feel that people need to watch this movie with an acknowledgement that this is just one person’s belief. You don’t have to necessarily believe the story to appreciate that it is a good movie. This movie was made for Christians, just like Freddy Krueger movies were made for horror fans who liked Freddy Krueger (but you didn’t necessarily have to be a Krueger fan in order to enjoy the films).
What people need to be paying attention to is the movie as a whole. Taking all religious associations out of it, the movie is powerful, heart-wrenching, and visually stunning. These are all things that make a good film. One of the film’s flaws is that it assumes the audience knows the history. So, within the first 20 minutes, you are already immersed in the violent and very brutal treatment of Jesus.
This movie was a risk for Mel Gibson, and he deserves some recognition for ending up with the movie he wanted to make. It may not have been tailored directly towards my beliefs specifically, but I was still impressed. The film is extremely violent. The whole movie is basically the beating and killing of Jesus in a highly graphic and in-your-face kind of way. If you can handle stuff like this, I urge you to go see it; if for no better reason than to just have an opinion.
Random movie quote: “You've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya...punk?” – from Dirty Harry starring Clint Eastwood
Movie Vault Recommendation: This week checkout Braveheart (1995 Oscar winner for Best Picture) starring Mel Gibson. Just in case you don’t like The Passion of the Christ, you won’t forget that Gibson has an enormous talent.
