Whatever was good about this film was erased by the indelible and repulsive image of the bloody, fully lacerated body of Jesus. There is no more than a square inch or two of his entire body that is not mutilated during the course of this film. The fact the this sadistic film could get a R-rating, instead of NC-17, when overt sexuality in movies is often suppressed, says something disturbing about our culture. There is really no big mystery to understanding this film. This film is simply a continuation of Mel Gibson's history of violent films starting with Mad Max and more recently with Braveheart. Apparently those past films can longer satisfy his blood lust and required him now to extend to new extremes of brutality and depravity. The story of Jesus was a way for him to gain audience acceptance. From interviews it is not surprising to find that Gibson's own hand drives the first nails in to Jesus. I come from a strong Roman Catholic background with plenty of school study of the final days of Jesus Christ. Gibson's version of the story is accurate enough. For some unknown reason Gibson left out two Stations of the Cross, the meeting of women and the burial. Because of recent publicity, I watched carefully for signs of anti-Semitism until I realized soon enough that no group in this film escapes blame. The Roman soldiers are sadistic brutes, Pilate is a failed administrator, the high priests are connivers, the crowd is happy for a torture show, Jesus's own disciples deny him, and all others are weak and helpless. Even the children and babies are often depicted as Satan's demons. The film's message is anti-human. Clearly Gibson is psychologically disturbed. In his defense I will note that among the eternal beating scenes Gibson does insert brief moments of Jesus's teachings of love. The film also ends on a higher note, the resurrection, where we are relieved to briefly see a restored Jesus again without blood. Thank God for that anyway. Even then, He still has holes in his hands. Why do those remain when all other punctures are gone? My gut feeling about Christianity after seeing this film was quite negative. I would worry about anyone whose faith is renewed by the film. What kind of spirituality is based on a story of sado-masochistic ritual? Finally, the story is supposed to be about someone sacrificing himself for the sins of humanity. Instead the film has a `suicide by cop' feel to it. For a much better treatment of Christian fervor in the face of abuse see the great classic The Passion of Joan Arc (1928). To this day this silent film is brilliant and passionate without graphic brutality. It contains perhaps the single greatest acting performance in film history. Other good films on Jesus last days include Vangelo Secondo Matteo (1964), Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and church produced movies such as the Mormon's Lamb of God. My rating for this film is 1 scourging of out 10.
Review of The Passion of the Christ
