review: passion of the christ

I was supposed to wake up at 9:00 AM EST to wait for the new set of washer and driers. But I didn't wake up until 11:00 AM EST. Sara and M wanted to go see the Passion of the Christ today, but M had to take her brother to a dentist appointment in the morning, so we didn't end up seeing Passion until 2:30 PM EST. I called Todd up around 1:00 PM EST to see if he wanted to go. My phone call woke him up.

I've been trying to see this film for the past month or so. But different things just kept popping up, keeping me from it. I've already heard a lot of initial reviews of it, so I had an idea of what to expect.

The thing that surprised me the most was how artsy the film was. I was expecting it to be a little artsy, but not like this. They took a lot of things from scripture and made it very literal. At the same time, they took a few liberties and tried to show visually spiritual things. It's not so much a movie, as it's a piece of art in motion.

A lot of people ask me if I liked it, and it's really hard to say. The film is more of an experience than anything else. You're taken on this journey from Gethsamane to the Cross and by the end of it, you're exhausted. I know, as a Christian, it was especially hard to watch. There are aspects where it's so hard to bare, but then I would reel myself back and remember it was just a movie. Still it's difficult not to imbue some sort of emotional weight on what is happening on the screen.

A lot of people commented on the excessivness of the violence. Personally, I think it was just right. When you think about scourging, they do 39 lashes. 39 lashes takes a long time to deal out. Granted, the random sporadic beatings seemed to be a bit much, but I could understand that as well. I don't know if I'm just desensatized, but I didn't think it was as bloddy as I expected it to be. It was very bloody, don't get me wrong, but for some reason, I expected a lot more.

By far, the best scenes were the ones where Jesus flashes back on different parts of his life. 2 in particular were especially moving for me. The first was when Jesus was beat and fell to the floor. As he lay there briefly, he say the sandal of a Roman guard and flashed back to when He washed His disciples' feet. I almost lost it completely. I weeped a little bit, but was able to control it.

The second was a scene where Jesus is carrying his cross and stumbles and falls. Mary is watching Him from an alley way and tries to run to Him to catch Him. There's a quick flashback to baby Jesus running and stumbling. I don't know what it was about it that was just so moving. Maybe it was the aspect that it showed that Christ was still human. Even though he was God incarnate, he was still human and still had the trappings and failings of an earthly body.

I always thought of Christ as perfect, and thus, perfect at everything. I imagined Him doing things like basketball or football and just excelling at them like no man could. I mean, He's God! But at the same time, He's human. The film really takes steps to highlight that. Does it make Christ any less majestic or glorious? No. If anything, it makes him more so. That God would step down from his thrown, condescend to our level, only to die for us. Incredible.

My only complaint with the film is the use of slow motion. There are so many parts where they just slow it down, as if it was critical. Every time that Jesus stumbles with His cross, they slow it down. It got to the point where when it would have been used to good dramatic effect, it lost a bit from its overuse.

It's hard to judge the acting as so much of it was viscereal. I guess since, more than once, I had to pull myself back and remind myself it was just a movie, the acting was top notch.

PTim has been pushing the point that Christ's physical suffering is incomparable to His spiritual suffering. Which I would agree with whole heartedly. But as being tangible human creatures, we can empathize with physical suffering infinitely easier than what Christ experienced when He was seperated from the Father. Christ knew this, that's why He said what He said at the last supper. Every eucharist we take, we are reminded of how His body was broken for us, His blood shed for us. Granted, it's not the only aspect, but I believe it is still a very important aspect.

Now the hard part, the recommendation. I think everyone should see this film because it is momentous. Not only is it about the single most important figure in history, it's also an amazing milestone in terms of film making. The entire film is performed using 3 dead languages. It's set design is so believable and authentic that you often forget you're watching a movie. It's an amazing experience.

So does that mean you'll enjoy it? You may not. It's not an easy film to sit through. It's not an easy film to even watch. If you're going to see it just for the hype, I think you might be disappointed. If you're going there because you're interested in a good artsy film, then you might enjoy it. I still haven't decided whether I "liked" it or not. It's definately one of those films that I would not be able to watch again.

4.5/5