The Passion of the Christ
I haven’t had the time to put this entry in. But as I’m finally taking time to sit and write, I’m taking the time now.
Earlier in the blog I mentioned how I wasn’t looking forward to seeing this movie. How a friend and I were going to go see it and that we’d probably be the only ones we could discuss it with.
My big fears? An overly preachy story, inaccurate portrayals, too much emphasis on the gore of the situation, and way way to much hype.
I was wrong. I was very impressed with what I saw.
The story is simply told. There was some stylization, but it’s a movie…that comes with the territory. The use of satan in the story is both haunting and really interesting. James Caviezel (Count of Monte Cristo) does an excellent job as The Christ. He is honest to the heart of the character and doesn’t over do his performance. Which, given the subject matter, is really easy to do.
The dialogue is simple…mostly staying true to the scriptures….what is added to round out the story is not offensive or outrageous. Except for how they portrayed King Herod. I want to know when in the world did the idea that King Herod was gay become popular? The man wasn’t gay, he married his brothers wife, the woman who demanded the head of John the Baptist. I liked the portrayal of Pilate and his wife, which rounded out that part of the story nicely.
All the actors did a stellar job. The performances were respectful to the story and I never felt like I was watching someone on a soap box.
The scenes involving the brutality of the situation are strong. But given the nature of what happened, I felt appropriate. I’m not a big blood and gore person, and I had heard enough complaints about the movie to be wary. But I never felt at anytime that it was overdone and ridiculous. Mel had the balls to show Jesus sweat blood in the garden, which as far as I know is the first for a major movie about Christ. The whipping would have been brutal in those days, so would the crucifixtion. We’re not talking about some clean easy story.
If you like your religious stories to be nice and pretty and easy, then this is not a movie for you to go see. There is no preaching involved just a reiteration of Christ’s comments about his resolve to finish his job.
I did cry at several points in this movie. From my perspective I was watching my eldest brother’s story. There were a few things I disagreed with in how the story was told, but those are only theology differences and didn’t really interrupt the movie for me.
I would someday like to see a movie told from the LDS perspective about the Garden of Gethsemene and about the cross. Most of Christianity believes that all that happened in the Garden is that Jesus was praying for resolve. That his worry about the ordeal he was about to go through caused him to sweat blood. Our theology holds that Jesus experience in the Garden was where he actually paid the spiritual price for sin so that we wouldn’t have to here on earth so that we could learn from our mistakes. The cross was where he beat the power of death. I do believe that we are the only ones who hold that idea. One of the gospels even mention how an angel came to support Jesus during this grueling ordeal of paying the spiritual price of sin. If you want to read more, check out the link to an earlier post I made about the Atonement of Christ.
So, overall, I was impressed with this telling of the crucifixtion. The imagery is stunning and impressive. This movie is really for those who already believe. Those who hold no respect for Jesus’ sacrifice won’t get anything out of it but confirmation that christians are overly impressed by gory stories. I’ve heard this comment enough from my atheist friends.
It’s not necessary to see this movie in the theater. It will work in video. I’m not sure if I’m going to buy this or not…I already have enough video’s about christ from my church’s own productions. I was touched by the heart and respect that was this movie. It was clearly an act of love for many who worked on it and it does show. The heart of this particular movie was touching and warm.
The Atonement of Christ
