The Passion of the Christ

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First off, I have to admit that I am not the person this movie was made for. I am not a Christian, the story means nothing to me. I can only approach it from an outsider's point of view and judge the movie based on its cinematic qualities.

On that level, I thought it was belabored and cartoonish, and I left the theater feeling completely depressed (anti-Semitic? This movie seems to hate the entire human race). I can get over the fact that the movie doesn't contain any spiritual teachings. But is it too much to ask for the characters to have some personality? Story, you ask? How about this: starts with Jesus' capture, ends with the climactic crucifiction and Jesus' eventual resurrection. In between, there is a lot of brutal torture and people crying.

Still, I must admit, I am glad this movie was made. It's completely worthless, but it has people talking and actually THINKING. And I'm impressed that Mel Gibson stuck to his guns amidst all the controversy and didn't try to soften his movie up. So hats off to him for getting the thing made in the first place.

Anthony (Anthony F), Saturday, 27 March 2004 17:37 (twenty years ago) link

anthony, there's already a thread for "The Passion".

jay blanchard (jay blanchard), Saturday, 27 March 2004 19:20 (twenty years ago) link

I thought I remembered seeing something like that. Either way, I had just gotten back from seeing it and needed to vent.

Anthony (Anthony F), Sunday, 28 March 2004 05:11 (twenty years ago) link

two weeks pass...
i donu not being catholic gives u no right to judge or say anythin about the movie. if u had any compassion or any feelings not only as a catholic but a human being, u would have seen the love and sacrifice jesus did for us, so back off. as fornot containing any spiritual teachings? what would u know about spiritual teachings, u not beliving in jesus and not being a catholic. y did u even bother writing anything, since u obviously know nothing about compassion, love, faith or jesus. what do u live for then?a human without any of those things is absolutly nothing and nobody.
o and another thing, there is a very huge difference between cartoons and the passion of the christ, so how can you say that you thought the movie was: ''cartoonish''?

ivana, Wednesday, 14 April 2004 14:48 (twenty years ago) link

Where was the spirtuality in that film? Where was even ONE of Jesus's teachings? It was a snuff-porno about a guy getting beaten for two hours.

Oh yeah, where in the gospels does it talk about throwing Jesus off a bridge and dangling him from a chain?

BabyBuddha (BabyBuddha), Wednesday, 14 April 2004 20:03 (twenty years ago) link

"Where was even ONE of Jesus's teachings?"

Well, they did have those brief flashbacks, like the one with the sermon on the mound. But you're right that the spirituality in the movie is virtually nonexistant. The film's a morbid turd.

latebloomer (latebloomer), Wednesday, 14 April 2004 23:14 (twenty years ago) link

"Morbid Turd" would make a great death metal band name come to think of it.

latebloomer (latebloomer), Wednesday, 14 April 2004 23:14 (twenty years ago) link

i get the feeling that this is the type of person that googles for bad Passion reviews to defend it. ive yet to see it so ill keep any sort comment about the movie to myself. however, without starting any sort of nasty theological argument, its most definitely possible to believe in love and compassion without believing in jesus christ as God incarnate.

but yea, i was also put off by anyone that called for the movie to be banned or tempered. even if it was openly and brutally antisemetic, intellectuals should trust the people of a nation to be able to run their own minds, as unlikely as that may seem to be the case in america at times.

tom cleveland (tom cleveland), Thursday, 15 April 2004 11:47 (twenty years ago) link

I've been tempted to go see this some afternoon just to find out what the fuss is. On the other hand, I don't want to associate myself with the rabid Christian fundie crowd by purchasing a ticket.

It would be like buying really creepy porn from my neighborhood grocery store - I have to look these people in the face.

miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Thursday, 15 April 2004 23:06 (twenty years ago) link

Do what I did -- pay for something good (Eternal Sunshine, for example), see that, and then sneak into The Passion. Not a penny for the Melster.

BabyBuddha (BabyBuddha), Friday, 16 April 2004 15:11 (twenty years ago) link

BabyBuddha, that's exactly what I was originally planning to do... but instead I went ahead and saw Sunshine and waited for my Army friend to get back from Iraq with her bootleg DVD of Passion in tow.

Eric H. (Eric H.), Sunday, 18 April 2004 06:32 (twenty years ago) link

Isn't stopping the spread of bootleg Passion DVDs one of the main reasons we are fighting in Iraq? ^_^

BabyBuddha (BabyBuddha), Monday, 19 April 2004 01:17 (twenty years ago) link

two years pass...
I want to viewt this movie throug your website.please send me thruogh this website.


GOD BE WITH YOU||.

admas abtew, Friday, 5 May 2006 11:11 (eighteen years ago) link

sixteen years pass...

https://www.screengeek.net/2023/01/09/the-passion-of-the-christ-sequel-filming-report/

jesus is back as jesus, mel gibson is back as director mel gibson.

“‘Resurrection’ would focus on the twenty-four hours encompassing Jesus’ passion and the events that occurred three days between his crucifixion and resurrection.”

it will be "interesting" to see how overall good guy mel gibson interprets the whereabouts of jesus between crucifixion and resurrection.

Karl Malone, Thursday, 12 January 2023 18:29 (one year ago) link

idk this sounds pretty bad ass. As a Catholic kid this...interzone period fascinated me:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrowing_of_Hell

Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 12 January 2023 18:31 (one year ago) link

The Passion Of The Christ 2: Passion Harder

StanM, Thursday, 12 January 2023 19:13 (one year ago) link

xp i didn't know about the harrowing until later on. i think my first time through Inferno was the first time i came upon the idea. i do kind of laugh at the idea of being stuck in hell with mel gibson, metaphorically, while filming an bunch of CGI sequences in hell with mel gibson.

and in the earthly realm, i do think think there's endless potential for drama in capturing the thoughts and actions of his followers during that time. some of whom may have thought he would never die, or that his death would instantly trigger the establishment of a kingdom of heaven on earth, and those that surely began to doubt everything. all the praying, not to mention the trauma of watching a close friend be executed.

it'd be cool if mel gibson was not the director though, haha

Karl Malone, Thursday, 12 January 2023 19:18 (one year ago) link

this...interzone period

aka the Harrowing of Hell.

more difficult than I look (Aimless), Saturday, 14 January 2023 04:04 (one year ago) link

Which I cited in my post

Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 14 January 2023 10:45 (one year ago) link

eight months pass...

hilarious movie

Make the chats AI (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 19 September 2023 14:45 (one year ago) link


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