It's not always an easy thing to explain to people, reconciling a love of horror with my faith. But is it disturbing because we are seeing the ultimate messenger of peace butchered before our very eyes, or would it be equally hard to take to watch anyone brutalized to such an extreme degree?Īs you may have surmised, I am a Christian. But even for eyes as jaded as mine, this is a hard film to take. Working in television news, I have seen many real acts of violence, which were in turn molded into an exploitive manner. In film, I have seen simulated violence, most often in an exploitive manner. For better or worse, I have seen many acts of violence on screen. There is absolutely no denying that this is an intense experience.
It is these moments that account for all but about twenty minutes of the running time.
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The rest of the film involves the trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate (Hristo Naumov Shopov), his "scourging" before the guards, the Stations of the Cross in which Jesus is beaten, whipped, stoned and forced to carry the cross that will eventually crucify him until he finally reaches the mountain of Golgotha, where he is nailed to the cross, and left to die. These are the least violent moments in the film. They take him to the high priests, who mock him and spit on him. Having been paid his thirty pieces of silver, Judas Iscariot (Luca Lionello) arrives and kisses Jesus, thus pointing out to the guards who the man is they should arrest. An androgynous Satan (Rosalinda Celentano) tries to tempt him but to no avail. But if this is what must be done for wash away the sins of man, then so be it. If there is another way out of this, Jesus wants it. Jesus (Jim Caviezel - THE THIN RED LINE, FREQUENCY), knowing that he is to be tried and killed, prays to his Father for guidance. The film opens in the Garden of Gethsemane, shortly after the Last Supper. I want to stress this because aside from an opening verse and a few references, the symbolic gesture of Jesus' death is not covered too well in THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. He offered himself up as a sacrifice for the rest of us, to absolve us of our sins so that through his own persecution, we may stop persecuting others.
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To put it into context, the place this holds in the Christian faith is that Jesus came to teach us how to live in peace. This is not the birth of Jesus, nor unfortunately is it about the teachings of Jesus. If you were raised with the story, as I was, you know it well. In this case this is THE Passion, relating to the trial, torture and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, portrayed here and in the Christian faith, as the son of God. Another thing is that the film is frightening, partially because of the cruelty on display and partially because the message seems so blurred.Ī "passion" in the sense of this film, is the persecution and death of a martyr or prophet. All this made moreso in that none of the violence is done for a comic effect, even if some of the characters come off as one-dimensional. It is now the high water mark for on-screen violence. This is bloodier than FACES OF DEATH, gorier than KILL BILL and more brutal than SCRAPBOOK.
In fact, it is the most violent theatrically released film I have ever seen, and it didn't get any easier to take on a second viewing. On a second point, I can almost guarantee the film is more violent than any horror film you are likely to see.
None of them are horror, but they are of enough interest to warrant mention on this site. I have reviewed some films of interest which do not fit into horror but they're here anyway - SCARLET DIVA, GANGS OF NEW YORK, EROTIC SURVIVOR, THE HULK, MONSTER, and ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 are just a few of these films. For one thing, I try to mix things up a bit. I suppose I should start by saying why in the world I'm putting a review for this film on a website that specializes in horror films. That said, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST is still a bit of a failure, but one so complex, it demands explanation. Also, the acting is superb by just about everyone, none of whom are speaking in a language they are fluent in or indeed that has been spoken for a couple thousand years. The composition and sets are absolutely gorgeous, which contrasts with the brutality on screen. THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST is a beautifully shot film.
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