That is what the title of The Passion of the Christ is shortend to on my movie ticket stub. I explained to those who asked about it that the theater had to choose between that and "The P of Christ." I think they made a wise decision.
I would like to make it clear that when I see a movie for the first time I try to watch it as objectively as possible. I often fail, but I do try.
People have called the movie grotesquely violent. The truth is that it is extremely violent. There were scenes during which I could not look at the screen. I strongly believe that no child should see the movie. Had I seen this movie when I was around ten years old or younger I would have been extremely terrified of Christianity. This is a movie for adults.
The violence may be grotesque but, unlike other films with high amounts of violence, The Passion of the Christ has a point. This point is often lost on those who know little about Christianity. The power of this movie can drive a believer to tears and should have non-believers asking questions at the very least.
Stepping back from the violence, there are many things about this movie I enjoyed. I loved that it was filmed in Aramaic, Latin, and Hebrew. That added more to the movie than I could describe. They worked the subtitles in so well that I often forgot the movie wasn't in English. I would be reminded when someone would say something not important enough to be translated.
The performances of James Caviezel and Maia Morgenstern as Jesus and Mary were amazing. I believe that Mary had the most emotionally intense moments in the movie, and this makes perfect sense when you think about the situation. Everyone cast in the movie seemed to be perfect for the role they played.
I loved the portrayal of both Satan and Judas. Satan is portrayed in a manner that I find much more believable for his character. Judas' character was given much more depth in the movie. Naturally, a few creative liberties were taken with everyone in the movie, but the ones concerning the characterization of these two were done particularly well in my eyes.
This isn't really a movie I feel capable of describing to people. It is a very emotional movie and I am not the greatest at describing emotion. The best advice I can give is to go see it. It is worth seeing at least once. However, consider yourself warned that there is an explicit amount of violence. You can also check out The Limey Brit's review for more information about the movie.
Posted by Randy at March 6, 2004 12:39 PM | TrackBack