3 of 16

Write now Article Tools

JESUS CHRIST POSE: Mel Gibson's "the Passion of the Christ"

Gotta tell ya, it really looks like it must be hell being Mel. Or will be when he has to answer to his maker for this movie.

I say this after having watched in detail the Passion of the Gibson, this thing that's caused so very much controversy, as most Jesus films do, sight unseen. It's rare that you see a religious film which has used its very (supposed) offensiveness as a marketing tool. Throughout Mel's odd promotion of this thing, which consisted of self-imposed martyrdom against the Jews, indeed it seemed the meme that this was the film the Jews don't want you to see was the one woven implicitly throughout as its selling point.

It was considered some mark of Christian pride by many to not only go see this film, but to take droves of people with them, particularly the young. Children who would barely ever be allowed to see even a PG-13 film by some of these folks-and in some cases, any film at all-were brought in by parents, guardians, preachers and teachers far and wide. So very many came to this mass-produced pilgrimage point, to worship before the graven image Gibson had clumsily carved from poisoned light.

A film that is full of hatred for Jews and apologia for Romans is, I suppose, better to them than one in which Judas talks in a Brooklyn accent. That kind of Jesus film they try to keep you from getting into. I know because I recall pushing past several white-suited Christian freaks who ought to have been off being obnoxious outside of an abortion clinic to see the Last Temptation of Christ, a clumsy and inconsistent but brilliant film that, unlike Gibson's waste of plastic and celluloid, actually turned me more toward its subject and his beliefs. It was a story of the human part of Christ attempting to come to terms with the other side, which is not seen but appears to him-as to all prophets-as madness and certainly no burden he wishes to take up. (A similar treatment is seen in the character of Prior Walter in the sometimes-brilliant Angels In America, in his case AIDS-induced dementia) Also focused upon in this version-from which Gibson, incidentally, has the nerve to lift whole passages of music, particularly nervy as the soundtrack album is one of the most popular such things- is what Jesus gives up by choosing not to merely run before he's arrested, which is any chance at the kind of happiness one can have as an ordinary man. But this is a far too subtle and multifaceted view of a small

• 1
• 2
• 3
• ...
• 8
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Movie reviews: The Passion of the Christ?
We want to hear your view. Write now!