Mel Gibson took the director’s chair for the third time in what has proved to be a rather controversial film: The Passion of the Christ. Passion is different from most movies in that it does not revolve around unfolding a story. Rather, by zooming in on the character of Jesus Christ, it attempts to express the power of the events that occurred and the passions that were the driving forces behind the rabbi from Nazareth. Unfortunately, it ultimately falls short of this goal.
One of the salient points about the movie is that it is extraordinarily gory in depicting what was done to Christ. Two scenes stand out in this regard: the beating of Christ by Pontius Pilate’s men, and the crucifixion scene. Lots of blood and torn flesh get the point across nicely. Gibson spared not a drop of the red stuff, making sure that the audience saw every puddle of it on the tile floor during Christ’s beating.
It was the crucifixion scene, however, that really drove home the character of Christ. Throughout it, he prays through a mouth full of blood that his murderers be forgiven, for they know not what they do. The scene is truly a powerful one, and indeed establishes Christ as one who absorbs the sins of man. His passion, therefore, is a desire to save mankind from itself, and this is excellently illustrated.
The acting in The Passion of the Christ was flawless. Watching the actors on the screen, they are not recognizable as actors playing parts in a story. James Caviezel played an impressive Christ, but the character that brought the most life to the movie was Simon—Jarreth J. Mertz—the innocent Jew forced to help Christ carry his cross. Simon spoke up for himself and for others, while all the other characters, especially Christ, seemed to be merely biding time and grimly bearing burdens.
The cinematography of Passion was surprisingly good. Many of the shots were unorthodox, and displayed an aptitude for visual effects one would not expect from a middle-aged action movie actor. In particular, the shots of Lucifer and the evil children were very well done.
One of the distinguishing features of the movie is that all the dialogue is in Aramaic, an ancestor of Hebrew and the most common language of the time, with English subtitles. While subtitles in general are an acquired taste, the overall effect—engaging the audience’s minds—was certainly beneficial for a movie whose aim is not merely to entertain, but to express as well.
Unfortunately, while its goals are noble, Passion lacks a certain spark that a movie of its designs requires in order to truly transcend the story of Christ and become something more than a gory and glorified retelling of the gospels. Perhaps the movie should delve even deeper into the mind of Christ, and show him as a true everyman, instead of having him silently grimace and bear his punishments.
