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Simon
of Cyrene helps a battered Jesus (James Caviezel) to
carry the cross to the place of his crucifixion.
Photo from the web site
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Fruits
of Mel's passion
The Passion of the Christ
Stars James Caviezel, Monica Bellucci, Rosalinda Celentano,
Sergio Rubini, Maia Morgenstern. Rated MA
Reviewer
:: Lt Simone Heyer
You've
probably heard about the controversy surrounding The Passion
of the Christ - the Jewish community have given it the thumbs
down and Christians are encouraging its viewing.
It
has been labelled sickening in its bloody portrayal of Jesus'
last 12 hours. All these points gave me more reason to catch
this film as soon as it was released.
It
starts in the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus praying and
Satan tempting him to turn his back on his certain fate.
Satan
is depicted, genderless and pale-faced in a black cloak, gliding
around. The reality of it deletes the perceived distinction
between the spiritual and physical realm.
The
same technique is used later when Judas is hanging around
as Jesus is brought before the Pharisees. Children taunt him,
then they turn into old midgets, then back to children.
The
technique is unusual, but efficient in portraying the guilt
and spiritual conflict Judas experienced after betraying Jesus.
The
violence starts the moment Peter cuts of a guard's ear in
the Garden of Gethsemane and ends when Jesus commits his spirit
to God's hands.
I
was expecting this film to be confronting and it was. I was
expecting a lot of blood and gore and there was. Maybe more
than I expected, but I believe that in that day, it wouldn't
have been too far from the truth.
After
Jesus is presented to Pilate, who instructs his guards to
punish Jesus, there are moments I felt a little off. The initial
whipping is nasty, but when they bring out the cat-o-nine-tails
and demonstrate the efficiency of the barbs on a wooden desk,
the scene goes from unsightly to gruesome. Blood pools on
the stones and spatters on the guards along with chunks of
flesh.
The
Pharisees still aren't happy that Jesus has been dealt with
appropriately and ask to have him crucified.
During
various office discussions of the film, different complaints
were raised.
If
you're unfamiliar with the story of Jesus' life and death,
you may not know who the characters are and how they fit in
to the story. Herod, Pilate, Peter and Judas are the only
ones mentioned by name. The rest are just faces in the story.
This
point is valid, though I think this is done to not detract
from the subject of the story, that being Jesus and his suffering.
There
was a scene where Jesus was thrown off a bridge on the way
back to Jerusalem and sees Judas cowering near a bush.
No-one
remembers that scene in the Bible.
Yet
another complaint was that you see the how of Jesus' crucifixion,
but not the why, and that he died for the sins of people from
that time on. He wasn't just some religious crank they nailed
up of their own accord; it was the will of God.
The
Passion of the Christ is a very confronting film, no doubt
about it. It's sickening in how hardcore it is, but valid.
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