An agnostic take on The Passion Of The Christ

[The Night Owl]

I just saw The Passion Of The Christ, so here is yet another "I just saw TPOTC" posts...

As a movie about the crucifixtion of Christ, TPOTC excelled. As a movie about Christ, the TPOTC failed. In TPOTC, Gibson presents the attitude that Christ suffered and died for mankind and, according to Gibson, that is pretty much all one needs to know. To Gibson, I would say that a lot of people have suffered and died for their fellow man and yet their lives have not given birth to religions. Christianity thrived not just because of Christ's death, but also because of his life and his teachings.

I just don't think that a movie about Christ can be considered successful or complete unless it presents a case for why Christianity is and has been so successful. TPOTC does not make that case. Instead, TPOTC opts to present a myopic glimpse of Christ.

Yes, TPOTC does present some of the teachings of Christ, but it does so in a way that feels very perfunctory and artificial. The flashbacks to moments in Christ's life before the crucifixtion do little more than provide some welcomed relief from the very graphic and downright gross imagery of the crucifixtion. I am no religious scholar, but I doubt that Christ intended his teachings to be used as relief from gross scenes in a Mel Gibson movie.

The irony of TPOTC is that scenes about the life of Christ died on the screen while scenes about the death of Christ lived on the screen.

Then again, perhaps Gibson's goal was merely to make a movie about the crucifixtion of Christ. If that was his goal, then TPOTC succeeds. Gibson forced us to witness the crucifixtion in a way that has never before been seen in movies, and that, in my opinion, is a good thing.

As a work of art, TPOTC is more or less forgettable, but I suspect that has a lot to do with the fact that the film was a very myopic study of Christ. The overuse of slow motion was thoughtless and heavy-handed. Music was overused throughout the movie and added little to the drama. The performances were very good. I liked what I saw of the guy who played Jesus, but I could not get over how much he looks like a young George Hamilton when George Hamilton was less leathery and less Vegas. That kind of pulled me back to reality a few too many times.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

1. You did better than me

I am a Christian and I won't watch it. I think of it as a Jesus slasher flick. Or a Jesus snuff film.

Good review, though. Well-written.

[The Night Owl]

2. Thanks!

I guess my post is a testament to the failure of TPOTC. I sense that Gibson intended TPOTC to make me into a true believer, but all the film inspired me to do is write a review of it.

:shrug:

[BlueHandDuo]

3. It's not a recruitment film...

...it's for Catholics, who already have a full set of emotional responses to the Passion programmed into them.

[Swamp Rat]

4. Heathen - my professional and very experienced opinion:

It's pornographic violence with a bit of S&M Jew hatred on the side.

[jackieforthedems]

5. Just Watched "The Passion Of The Christ"

tonight with my husband and 2 sons, ages 9 and 10. As far as getting the message across that Jesus suffered horribly and died an excruciating death for our sins - I think the movie accomplished that. I've heard people complain that the movie is too gory, etc... Well, that's what it was like back then - hope nobody thought that it was going to be a piece of cake! My favorite movie about Jesus is, "Jesus Of Nazareth", and it still is because of how it teaches about Jesus' entire life from birth to death to resurrection. But I think that "TPOTC" is a good movie for those people who are numb/insensitive to things emotionally and who are hard to reach. They need to see something like that to give them real food for thought - kind of like shock/awe. Anyway, I give Mel Gibson credit for doing his share in spreading the word about Jesus - that's the main thing!