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A film detailing the final hours and crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
James Caviezel: Jesus
From the enigmatic beginning to the climactic credits, Passion of the Christ demands full control of ones body, mind and emotion. So visually spectacular and physically effecting, Passion had me literally convulsing and writhing in uncomfort. Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, starring Jim Caviezel, is a retelling of the last hours of Jesus Christ in beautiful Aramaic. Believe me when I say that this production is more than a story, more than a movie, this film can only be described as an ethereal spiritual experience.
Remember the fish symbol, remember revolution, remember the people who stand for change in dark times.
This Passion of the Christ is fantastically brutal, gory and sadistically torturous. From beginning to end, blood drenched flesh is smeared across the screen in a ghastly fashion, putting even degenerate SAW or Hostel films to shame. Gibson defends his incredibly graphic depiction by noting that the bible states Jesus was beaten and tortured beyond recognition. I assure you, beaten beyond recognition hardly describes soft tissue being torn to the bone as blood drips into puddles on the ground. The violence shown in this film is unlike other Hollywood violence - it's uncomfortably personal, in effect unforgiving. The scenes are moving, the violence perhaps repetitive, that the chapters appear to take place in your very mind; imagine before you a man being torn to bloody shreds; you're powerless to intervene, you're reduced to a spectator.
Jesus the carpenter, the healer, the revolutionary of an age... The twelve disciples show friends ultimately can betray you. This doesn't stop you from loving them regardless of their actions or sins.
Everyone betrays him and even his own disciples. Anyone who has read the Gospel of Judas may also note that Jesus asks or rather commands Judas to make a great sacrifice as well: He tells him to betray him and this is also significant and emotionally charged, powerful.
''You have heard it said you shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. For if you love only those who love you, what reward is there in that?''
As any appreciator of the finer things in film might see, The Passion of the Christ is artistic genius. Mel Gibson stated that his film follows the last 12 hours of Christ in accordance to the Gospel, and although biblical scholars have confirmed this to be true, it is also true that a certain artistic license was taken to particular moments in the story. Nothing anti-biblical was added, but inside a sense deep meaning was inserted through symbols and actions not actually recorded in the gospels. This artistry serves to aid the story and engage the audience - artistically and culturally, expect nothing less that a film superbly crafted. The aramic language also gives the film and story a realistic essence that the audience can taste, hear and feel. You are witnessing a struggle.
Set your expectations high, this one can handle them.
No matter your personal background, no matter your views on race or ideology, no matter your beliefs on the afterlife or views on heaven, this Passion needs to be seen. The art, the culture, and the magnificence - see The Passion of the Christ and you will have seen a glimpse of history spanning over two thousand years ago.
''Forgive them, Father. They know not what they do.''
9/10
