The Passion Of The Christ | ||||
Mel Gibson James Caviezel, Maia Morgenstern, Monica Bellucci, Mattia Sbragia, Hristo Naumov Shopov, Claudia Gerini, Luca Lionello 2004 |
Church youth groups, beware! More a violent, gore-splattered horror film than a religious epic, "The Passion of the Christ" actor/filmmaker Mel Gibson's self-proclaimed labor of faith and love is a graphic representation of the last hours of Jesus of Nazareth, the Biblical prophet known as the Son of God. The work is technically impressive… and wince-inducing. And its token attention to context and philosophy shortchanges the crucial moment in Christian theology. "The Passion" concerns the condemnation of Jesus by the Pharisees, his torture by sadistic Roman soldiers, and his crucifixion. Gibson, who co-wrote the screenplay and directed, presents an excruciating hour of Jesus, played with quiet strength by Jim Caviezel, getting beaten, kicked, whipped, flayed and pierced, plus the infamous cross-dragging to you-know-where. There's nothing this tough to watch in "Hellraiser." Few flashbacks are provided: a taste of the Last Supper, Jesus rescuing the prostitute Magdalen (Monica Bellucci) from a stoning, and a silly scene of Jesus building a table and chatting with his mother. If the before and after are being taken for granted, it doesn't make for an experience as satisfying as Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ," which is a richer, more intellectually provocative movie without lessening the story's drama. | |||
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