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After all the controversy and rigorous debate has subsided, Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ will remain a force to be reckoned with. In the final analysis, "Gibson's Folly" is an act of personal bravery and commitment on the part of its director, who self-financed this $25-30 million production to preserve his artistic goal of creating the Passion of Christ ("Passion" in this context meaning "suffering") as a quite literal, in-your-face interpretation of the final 12 hours in the life of Jesus, scripted almost directly from the gospels (and spoken in Aramaic and Latin with a relative minimum of subtitles) and presented as a relentless, 126-minute ordeal of torture and crucifixion. For Christians and non-Christians alike, this film does not "entertain," and it's not a film that one can "like" or "dislike" in any conventional sense. (It is also emphatically not a film for children or the weak of heart.) Rather, The Passion is a cinematic experience that serves an almost singular purpose: to show the scourging and death of Jesus Christ in such horrifically graphic detail (with Gibson's own hand pounding the nails in the cross) that even non-believers may feel a twinge of sorrow and culpability in witnessing the final moments of the Son of God, played by Jim Caviezel in a performance that's not so much acting as a willful act of submission, so intense that some will weep not only for Christ, but for Caviezel's unparalleled test of endurance. Leave it to the intelligentsia to debate the film's alleged anti-Semitic slant; if one judges what is on the screen (so gloriously served by John Debney's score and Caleb Deschanel's cinematography), there is fuel for debate but no obvious malice aforethought; the Jews under Caiaphas are just as guilty as the barbaric Romans who carry out the execution, especially after Gibson excised (from the subtitles, if not the soundtrack) the film's most controversial line of dialogue. If one accepts that Gibson's intentions are sincere, The Passion can be accepted for what it is: a grueling, straightforward (some might say unimaginative) and extremely violent depiction of the Passion, guaranteed to render devout Christians speechless while it intensifies their faith. Non-believers are likely to take a more dispassionate view, and some may resort to ridicule. But one thing remains undebatable: with The Passion of the Christ, Gibson put his money where his mouth is. You can praise or damn him all you want, but you've got to admire his chutzpah. --Jeff Shannon

Reviews

"I had the opportunity to privately screen this movie in November in its unfinished condition. All I can say is that This movie has had more of an impact on me than any other movie ever. The film is extremely accurate in its history. It has incredible acting and it will stun you sitting there watching it. The film does has english subtitles because it is actually filmed in aramaic. But the imagery of the film definitely transcends the subtitles, even to the point where it makes sense not to have the movie in the english language. Some scenes are graphic, but not overly detailed. It will make you squirm in your seat quiet a few times while watching it. I can think of 5 times during this film where I could not hold back tears.....and i never cry during a movie. Overall this movie probably will not get the acclaim it deserves just because of its subject matter. But it is the best movie so far in the 21st Century. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone and everyone...no matter if your a religious person or not...Gibson does a incredible job of taking a 2000 year old story and turning it into a reality before your eyes"

"This movie is the most realistic, historically accurate version of Christ's Passion on film to date and may never be surpassed. The movie focuses on the last twelve hours of Jesus' life from the garden of Gethsemane to the cruxifiction. However it also shows the post-cruxifiction apocolyptic events and the resurrection as well as a few flashbacks of Jesus' childhood, one of Palm Sunday, and the Last Supper. The film is faithful to and based primarily on the four Gospels.(This has been attested to by many renowned Christians and biblical scholars such as Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos, Fr. Tom Forrest, Billy Graham, Ted Haggard, Jack W. Hayford, Pastor Greg Laurie, Dr. Darrell Bock, Lee Strobel, and most recently, Pope John Paul II. The film is done tastefully and creatively but its realism is oftentimes horrifying because of the tortures Jesus endured. The purpose is to show the extent of the sacrifice willingly made by the Son of God. The film is in Latin, Aramaic and Hebrew with english subtitles. The film, besides being beautiful because of its subject matter is also aesthetically gorgeous. The cinematography is extaordinary and the actors all fit their roles very well. The sets are amazing. The film had a budget of $25 million and it shows. The music is a combination of middle eastern style music with traditional Hebrew chanting. There was an additional source used for inspiration and to "fill in the blanks" that the Bible does not mention(ex.: where Jesus was scourged, the reactions of his apostles, descriptions of the crowd, and Pilate, etc.). for those of you who are biblical purists consider that relying on a source that may or may not be inspired and is written in the spirit of the Gospels is better than relying on a hollywood screenwriter. The film uses the diaries of the Catholic mystic, ven. Anne Catherine Emmerich as collected in her book, 'The Dolorous Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ'. It is a wonderful book that compliments the Gospels well. Emmerich's book does not contradict the Gospels. The film will be released on February 25, 2004. And by the way, this Jesus(played by Jim Caveizel)actually looks like a Jew of ancient Isreal :) .God bless. "

"It is the BEST movie that I have ever seen in my whole life. The careful detail that the staff ( and of course, Mel Gibson )follows is simply INCREDIBLE. I thought that I was REALLY witnessing Jesus during His terrible ordeal. The fact that the movie is spoken in the original language that Jesus spoke, and the Romans spoke, places the re-creation at so high a level that is impossible to describe. You just have to sit and watch. Nothing else for the spectator to do. I never thought that mortal people could reproduce this crucial part of Jesus' life ( and death )with such reality. Concerning the accusations of antisemitism, they just don't fit. With the same logic you might say that The Bible is antisemitic. To be more specific, for example, when Simon de Cirene helps Jesus to carry The Cross, the Romans call him: "Jew" and not in a pleasant way. But in spite of being a Jew, Simon helps Jesus and defends Him. You might say that the Romans are antisemitic. Has somebody said it ? "

"I need to start going back to church and confess my sins, I love you Jesus. Forgive me for all of my bogus, but goofy reviews. This is not one of them. "

"Some people think that this movie was too gory and that christ actually didnt get beaten that bad. Well just so you know the Bible says that people couldnt even recognize him as a man which is saying that its possible he was beaten even worse which is a sad thought. In every 'Jesus' movie i have ever seen, it shows Jesus up on a cross with a little cut on his side. The reason i say that is because "The Passion" shows detail and shows how excrutiating his death really was, and what he went through for us. The only reason i can see someone not liking this movie is that they are too week hearted and cant take the violence. "