“The Passion of the Christ”

 

“The Passion of the Christ”

 I watched Mel Gibson’s magnum opus “The Passion of the Christ” again on Good Friday.  It’s not a pleasant movie to watch.  It tells the story of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross with brutal, cinematic honesty.  It draws accurately from all four of the synoptic gospels to portray 30 A.D. Roman-Hebrew politics and associated violence and brutality.  In spite of the controversies around its graphic depictions and claims of anti-Semitism, this movie should be seen by every Christian, not just charismatic Catholics like Mel Gibson.

 Only the Roman government had the authority to put Christ to death.  Christ was condemned to be crucified at the insistence of the Jewish Sanhedrin in face of original reluctance by the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, who was finally convinced, after “washing his hands”, and who ordered Christ flogged and crucified.  The Jewish insistence that Christ be crucified is an historical fact, and not some manufactured anti-Semitism.  But Rome gave the order, after insistence by the Sanhedrin.

 Mel Gibson could not get a major studio to finance the movie, so he invested $30 million of his own money.  Overall, Mel Gibson earned somewhere in the range of $400 – $475 million off “Passion of the Christ”.

 The movie was filmed in Italy, with mostly Italian actors, speaking ancient Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew.  Jim Caviezel, who played Christ, suffered a lightning strike, a dislocated shoulder, hypothermia and many bruises during the filming.  He needed two heart surgeries.  Being a devout Catholic, he says he would do it again.  And he might have to, since Mel Gibson is working on a sequel, - Jesus’ resurrection.

 Some references:

 https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-passion-of-the-christ-2004

 https://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/celebrity/much-mel-gibson-make-off-passion-christ/

 https://www.today.com/popculture/caviezel-playing-christ-proved-be-challenge-wbna4297029

 Ray Gruszecki

April 16, 2022