Saturday, November 11, 2006
The Passion of the Christ
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: *1* *2* *3*
- Commentary: For both my mother and me, the controversy over this movie was beside the point. My mother is an aficionado of both Jesus and religious movies, so, of course, she had to see this one. If I hadn't been living with my mother when it came out, I probably would not have seen it, but not in some sort of intellectual or spiritual protest. I wouldn't have bothered because I know the story so well and know what I believe about the issues it raises.
The rough and violent nature of the movie bothered neither of us. We discussed, briefly, whether Jesus was singled out for unusual torture, as, basically, his crucifixion was all in a day's work, and he wasn't the only person crucified on the day he died, nor was he the only person ever convicted of exactly the type of political treason that sent him to Golgotha.
Other than that, my mother's favorite "character" in the movie is the oblique, white head of who she assumes to be "satan", or, more appropriately, as she expressed it, the spirit of evil and selfishness luring Jesus to turn his back on his mission. The head reminds me a bit of the spirit masks floating about in Spirited Away.
I've linked the title of this post to Roger Ebert's extraordinary and cogent review of this movie.
The movie is definitely a winner from the "Bible Movie" perspective, for my mother.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Jim Caviezel Jesus of Nazareth Maia Morgenstern Mary, mother of Jesus Monica Bellucci Mary Magdalene Luca Lionello Judas Iscariot Rosalinda Celentano Satan Luca De Dominicis Herod Ántipas Pietro Sarubbi Barabbus Hristo Naumov Shopov Pontius Pilate Giacinto Ferro Joseph of Arimathia Sergio Rubini Dismas, Penitant Thief Mattia Sbragia Caiaphas Francesco De Vito Peter
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film, which outlines some of the controversy against which Roger Ebert was writing in his review.
Release Date: 2004
Directed by Mel Gibson.
Labels: bible-movies1, drama8, jesus-dvds, mel-gibson, mom-favorite1, period4, religion1, spectacle2, violence3
