Tetris

Reflections on The Passion of the Christ

17 Votes

There have been so many discussions, public and private, about this movie that I wanted to find out what was so special about it. The main points that were made by commentators included the following: First, many Christians felt that it was for them a most moving experience to see how much suffering Christ had truly undergone to save humankind from all its sins. Then there were discussions on the authenticity of the presented episodes, though by and large they followed the Biblical texts. Some expressed the fear that the movie would unleash or revive intense anti-Semitic feelings, which would be quite dangerous, especially in the current international political scene. Another criticism was that the movie was too gory in its details, and underplayed, not to say ignored, the message of Christ which is far more relevant and significant that his crucifixion.

As a result of such comments, I had little inclination to go see the movie. Yet I went and saw it because I wanted to understand, appreciate, and participate in discussions on it. I also wanted to see it because the topic is of perennial interest: after all, the crucifixion of Christ has given an everlasting symbol to Christianity. I re-read chapters from John, Matthew, Mark and Luke, before I went to see the movie, and was surprised to see things in common and also differences in the narratives.

I was not disappointed by the movie, because I did not expect much from it, having heard and read more negative than positive accounts of it. I was not surprised because the reviewers and discussants had already described much of what I was to see. I was not entertained, because I witnessed far too much pain, and no touch of humor in the entire film. I was not impressed because, though the acting was good and the photography excellent, there was nothing extraordinary in all of that. I was not educated because I did not learn anything new from the...