Without any doubt one of the most controversial movies of 2004, The Passion of The Christ, tells the story of the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ. Director Mel Gibson had major difficulties finding a distributor for his magnus opus, for which he financed the $25m budget personally. In the United States this film was immediately called Anti-Semitic and not true to the Bible version. To me it was of devastating beauty (hmm wrong word maybe) and extremely impressive.

The Passion of the Christ uses the original languages spoken at the time Jesus lived: Aramaic, Hebrew and Latin. Originally Gibson wanted the images to speak for themselves and not use any subtitling. Because of the fact the story is so well-known, Gibson could have done without. Some dialogues are of an explanatory nature, but you do not need them to understand what the story of Jesus’ suffering is all about. What is striking is the lack of names in the movie. Some of the apostles are mentioned, but overall you have to delve into your memory (and Bible class if you had any) to know the characters of (Mother) Mary, Mary Magdalene, Pilate and even the Devil.

This last character was added to the story by Gibson himself. Although the Bible ‘ as far as I know ‘ does not make mention of Satan himself during the last 12 hours of Jesus, this element adds some spirituality and depth into a film that is stuffed with cruelty, blood, pain and other atrocities. The comment of many reviewers is that Gibson only did this to shock his audience, but to me many of these reviewers do not get the core meaning of The Passion. I would not take my 10-year old to see it, if I had one, but behind all the torture there is the story of Jesus as a human being. The miracles he performs are mineralized to healing an ear, but The Passion is mainly focusing on Jesus as a man suffering for his faith and followers.

The first true impression the viewer gets of the atrocities that are bestowed upon Jesus, is when he is taken captive by the Jewish priests and let down off a bridge were he faces Judas, who has betrayed him for 30 silver lings. Then we see Jesus being tortured by the Roman conquerors, a decision taken to satisfy the Jewish people of Jerusalem. You almost see the blood and meat splash off the screen. What makes these scenes bearable is the effective use of soft-focused flash-backs and the story of the two Mary’s (played by and impressive Maia Morgenstern and a daunting Monica Bellucci). The rest of the movie is filled by the carrying of the cross and the crucifixion. But it is not just horror and pain, Gibson tells an emotional story.

What can be commented about The Passion of the Christ concerns the way Gibson portrays the Jewish priests and population. Although he shows them in a rather black and white manner, I would not dare to call this Anti-Semitic. They are charicatures in Gibson’s vision. Gibson could have made more nuances however. All in all, The Passion is one you have to see. Not because you want to know what the controversy is all about, but because it will blow you away. This is a movie about passion, made with passion. Both Caviezel (Jesus) and Gibson are devoted Catholics. I could not keep my eyes dry, something that hardly ever happens because I don’t want to look silly, and I can’t wait for Gibson to do his next Bible film, supposedly about the Maccabees, because these are amazing stories. Whether you believe’ or not.

Directed by: Mel Gibson
Starring: James Caviezel, Maia Morgenstern, Monica Bellucci
Official Website

‘The Passion of the Christ’ runs 127 minutes and is now showing.
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