Movie Review
The Passion Of The Christ
Rating: MA15+ / NC-17
Length: 127 minutes
Director: Mel Gibson
Main Cast: James Caviezel, Maia Morgenstern, Monica Bellucci, Luca Lionello, Mattia Sbragia, Hristo Naumov Shopov, Luca De Dominicis
Official Website:
http://www.thepassionofthechrist.com
How do you review a movie like The Passion?
For me at least, it's quite a difficult prospect.
Going to see this movie was a very surreal experience for me. The whole process of buying a ticket, sitting down in my comfy chair with some popcorn, and watching Jesus get brutally tortured and killed for two hours was somewhat bizarre to say the least.
Also, it's clear that this wasn't a movie created solely as entertainment, and I think it needs to be evaluated with that notion in mind. Don't get me wrong, The Passion is a fantastic film in it's own right - a great story, well told - but beyond "Wow, that was a great movie," I think Gibson would also like to see people coming out of this movie saying, "Wow, that Jesus was an amazing guy."
As well as that, as the movie is essentially a dramatisation of the end of the Gospels, with information from a few other sources, reviewing it feels a bit like trying to review a historical event. How do you evaluate a crucifixion?
And that is what it feels like to watch this movie: Like witnessing a killing. The Passion is incredibly brutal - Gibson does not shy away from graphic depiction of the violence done to Jesus. There were times in this film where I was truly horrified by what I was seeing. And not in an artificial, empathising-with-the-fictional-character's-pain way; this isn't sanitised Hollywood violence. This is personal and terrible and "real" and very difficult to watch at times, and I could see from the faces of the people around me that I was not alone in this reaction.
But this is not a film that relies solely on shock tactics. Beyond the gore, the acting and directing in this film are almost flawless: Mel Gibson does a phenomenal job of bringing to life the Jerusalem of 2000 years ago, James Caviezel is fantastic in the role of Jesus, and the supporting cast is great as well.
My only complaints are that there were a few places where I wondered whether a little too much creative license may have been used in the storytelling, and a few annoying little inconsistencies with history (the nailing of Jesus to the cross through his hands rather than through his wrists, for example), but these hardly detracted from the telling of the story.
By the time the lights came back on at the end, it was clear that many in the audience had been truly moved by the experience of watching the movie. This kind of audience response is a rare event in modern cinema. I have seen very few movies that I would describe as "important". Michael Moore's
Bowling For Columbine is one that comes to mind, and I think
The Passion of the Christ also fits in this category.
If you're a Christian, you'll love this film. If you're not, I'm fairly certain you'll still find it thoroughly enjoyable. Just keep in mind that it's rated MA15+ for a reason.
Rating: Four-and-a-half stars. (The book was better.)
~ Chris
The above review was from a friends newly launched fortnightly WEBzine
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i plan to see it soon