The Passion: Worthwhile,
But Disappointing

THE CONTROVERSY swirling around Mel Gibson’s “The Passion” continues unabated, but after having seen the film, the controversy is much ado about very little. The overall impact of the movie is excellent; the whole western world is discussing the life and times and the reality of Jesus Christ, and this stimulus cannot help but be positive in outcome. Is it worth seeing? Yes. But it’s not what I expected.

I watched it at the Sparks Cinema on opening day and quite frankly it was a bit of a disappointment. Frankly, I’m not sure what I was expecting, but the plot based on the last 12 hours of Christ’s life seemed to focus on the wrong things.

I’m very familiar with the New Testament and the accounts in the four gospels describing all the events leading up to His crucifixion, none which dwell almost wholly on the physical suffering of Jesus Christ.

Yet, the movie focuses almost entirely on that, with seemingly unending scenes of Christ getting beaten, whipped and scourged by everyone from the Sanhedrin’s police force to the Romans to the populace lining the path to Calvary. Gibson also had an excessive number of slow motion scenes of Jesus passing out and tumbling to the ground, generally face first.

Also done in excess were the scenes depicting the sadistic nature of the Roman soldiers, portrayed as delighting in torturing Jesus and laughing almost hysterically at his brutalized and very bloodied body -- which they continued to pummel throughout the movie.

Gibson intersperses the violent scenes with flashbacks to various moments of Jesus at happier, holier times and thereby imparts some of his basic teachings: core beliefs common to most Christian sects.

In spite of the brief glimmers, the overall impact left me feeling relieved the movie was over and with almost no sense of spiritual uplift or a greater appreciation of the real point of Jesus’ life.

I have heard of others who truly loved the movie and came away with a deep appreciation for the physical suffering aspect of Jesus’ final hours. Yet all the reviews I read indicated “not a dry eye” was in the crowd leaving the theaters. I watched the audience as I exited and found the opposite, that no one was weeping or drying tears away. I could almost feel an atmosphere filled with what I was experiencing, almost a sensation you would feel after seeing some poor, terribly injured pet suffering horribly and watching at very close range as someone puts it out of its misery.

The movie had some excellent theoretical expansions on why some decided the way they did, most notably Pontius Pilate. I did not catch who the actor in this role was but he did an outstanding job and, after Jesus, is the most memorable cast member.

All the whining about the movie creating some sort of anti-Jewish backlash is also all smoke and no fire. If anything, the movie makes the Romans out to be the villains much more so than the Jews, and there are numerous scenes depicting various positive reactions by Jews towards Jesus.

Gibson has a powerful track record of success with everything he touches, and perhaps my views are too narrow in scope. With millions around the world seeing it, no doubt it will more than compensate him for his investment. But it is not -- unlike Braveheart or The Patriot -- a movie I would be anxious to see again.

My hope is Gibson will plan a sequel based on, say, the six months leading up to the crucifixion and tell the gospel story in some sort of believable way, certainly something a creative genius like Gibson could do.

After all, the problem with focusing on the physical pain and suffering of Christ is that it is not a key to accepting his claim of divinity. Anyone even remotely familiar with the horrors man can inflict, and has inflicted, on his fellow man knows the physical torture of Jesus was not, unfortunately, unique in any way. Unless you already had an extensive knowledge of the events behind these 12 hours, focusing unduly on the suffering leaves you ignorant of the purpose of the suffering. Jesus’ real claim to fame lies not in the physical but the metaphysical, if you accept the spiritual aspect of his life. Even more important is the application in day-to-day living, the real test of his teachings.

Gibson has opened a breach in a wall Hollywood has sealed, and a huge vacuum exists behind this artificial wall. Millions are hungry for a positive portrayal of a man they believe is holy and a God. Gibson has bravely blazed a path, one he hopefully will follow up on in the very near future.