Virtue Magazine

ØRunning Time: 127 minutes
ØRating: R [Graphic Violence]
ØStarring: James Caviezel, Mattia Sbragia, and Hristo Naumov Shopov
ØDirector: Mel Gibson
ØDistributor: Newmarket Films
ØReview Rating: «««« (of four)

Oftentimes we look to movies for respite from the troubles of life. However, don’t watch The Passion of the Christ, if you’re looking for respite. The two hours of the film are filled with a graphic protrayal of the intense horrors of the last hours of Christ’s time on earth.

Beginning with Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, and ending with his crucifixion and resurrection, this movie leaves little to one’s imagination. The intense violence, for which the film earned its “R” rating, is overwhelming. However, it does make a point.

Taking a huge risk, director Mel Gibson (Braveheart, The Patriot) spent $25 million of his own money to make this film portraying the last hours of Christ. However, this director not only risked his own fortune, but his reputation in Hollywood. In retrospect, a year later, Gibson’s reputation seems to have fared well in Hollywood.

That aside, The Passion proved to be a smash hit, making over $23 million on its opening day, second only to Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings. The Passion of the Christ went on to gross over $400 million in box office sales. Today, The Passion: Recut is adding even more to that total.

Part of the movie’s smashing success is due to the way it was marketed.

One of the biggest problems Gibson faced in the making of this film was finding a distributor. Despite adversity from Hollywood, Gibson did find one distributor called Newmarket Films. Ironically enough, this independent distributor’s last success was the box office megahit My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Using the same marketing tactics as they did with My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Newmarket and Mel Gibson took The Passion to churches and showed it to thousands of people. This created a buzz about the film—a buzz so big that awareness of The Passion rose to about sixty percent among Americans.

While few films live up to such buzz, The Passion of the Christ more than manages to do so.

Many films have depicted the last hours of Christ; some with relatively idyllic conditions surrounding the events, and others, like Jesus Christ: Superstar, with sarcasim. The Passion pulls out all the stops. Jesus (James Caviezel; The Count of Monte Cristo) is beaten with sticks, flogged with a cat o’nine, and smacked with chains. Even the crucifixion is portrayed without the gory details being hidden. By the time the credits roll around, one can only feel as mentally fatigued as Jesus was bodily tortured.

At the time of the cruxification, Jesus is almost unrecognizable because of the extreme measures used to torture him. While it is horrifically painful to watch, this film is a wonderful reminder of what Christ suffered for us.

The bizarre portrayal of Satan as a woman with shaved eyebrows, and a man’s voice is very effective. Also, a brief flashback scene with Jesus and Mary provides a little, momentary humor. All in all, the excellent acting is surperb, so that the story isn’t encumbered by the Aramaic, Latin, and Hebrew script.

After seeing The Passion of the Christ, I left the theater not with a severe hatred for Jews, but rather a numbness that lasted for a couple days. As to whether one should watch The Passion—that is a personal decision that only you can make. However, I would encourage you to consider whether you should view this film. This beautiful portrayal of Christ’s sacrifice is certain to touch your heart.