Thoughts about the Passion

March 02, 2004

Category: Recommendation

The Passion of the Christ When I saw this movie, I was excited. I had gone opening night with a few friends, family and church-goers. I wanted my ticket to be counted among the opening week numbers (which ended up being over $125 million!). As you can tell, I wanted Hollywood to know that there is a large audience of people that want—cherish—this kind of content in films. And that’s what I do—cherish it wholeheartedly.

Yet, I was surprised by my own reaction. I came out smiling, excited, and impacted all at the same time. Oddly enough, I wasn’t sad or down because of the torture of Christ or the pain of what he went through. For years, I had been imagining as best I could what it must have been like for him to be beaten, forced to carry a cross, and hung on it like a thief. I was prepared to see blood and pain.

See, I wholeheartedly supported this movie because I knew it was the right message, in the right way, at the right time. I trusted Mel Gibson enough—and the process he employed—to know that this was a film I could support. Sure, there are a few things I could complain about. Things like the fact that Jesus disciples were probably in their late teens, that the nail went through his wrists, and other artistic liberties that I would have wanted to portray differently. But, in the scheme of things, all of these are minor and inconsequential.

I could let my guard down almost completely while watching this film. But watching other films I like because of their spiritual content (Lord of the Rings, Matrix, Shadowlands, Shawshank Redemption) STILL require me to “filter” somewhat.

This film did what everything I thought it would. It gave me images to help me remember the sacrifice Christ made to fulfill the covenant between God and man. It made me cry. It satisfied my “postmodern” itch. It went beyond my critical artistic eye’s imagination. It was technically beautiful. It was surprisingly poetic and delightful.

In hindsight, I think I was too removed from the /content/ to give it the ability to impact me in all the ways that I know it can. With this in mind, I will view it again after I have let time pass to hopefully gain new perspective on all the power of this film. I will reserve a more intimate review of the film for then.

I applaud the effort and recommend this film to anyone. I bless God for this film.

Posted by pablohart on March 02, 2004 01:20 PM

Comments

I think that Christians, after seeing this film, can no longer "cleanse" the cross as we have for years. The visual image of a clean Jesus with a single scar in his side is gone, replaced by real pictures - scars, wounds, bruises, and flowing blood - all for our sake, and for our lives.

My reaction to this film was two fold - the guilt of my sin - and the beauty of the sacrifice that was for ME! I walked away quietly, but with an incredible peace in my heart, knowing that God loved me despite my sin to fight the battle for me.

I praise God for this film, and pray that it works wonders in many hearts.

Posted by Lynell at March 2, 2004 5:05 PM

"I could let my guard down almost completely while watching this film"

the only flag i would wave regarding this comment is that this was just a film, not the gospel per se, or the gospel(s) as we have (them) canonized. there were definitely extra-biblical aspects to the film that a discerning christian should note, even while allowing it to minister as it did to both you and me. for example, the crow, some dimensions of the satan personification, and the insistance on maintaing christian traditions (read: uber-catholic 'stages of the cross' or peter's kneeling before mary in confession) that are arguably additions to the text. don't read this is a slam on those traditions--they are for the most part beautiful and have blessed millions of adherents, yet, they should be carefully examined by anyone who takes the gospels seriously and the message therein.

i myself had a deeply personal and profound religious experience while watching this film, but i choose not to "let my guard down" while analyzing it post hoc. but, then again, that's what i am supposed to do as a student of theology.

Posted by nathan at March 5, 2004 1:37 AM

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