The Passion of the Christ (2004)

I once went into a Catholic church and saw a cross with a life-sized, bloody Christ on it, and wondered what they were thinking, putting such a gory sculpture in a church. Of course, I am from a Protestant tradition, which shows the empty cross as a symbol of the resurrection, rather than the suffering and death. This film is a live-action, bloody Christ on the cross, complete with torture, blood, and gore.

That said, the movie has an emotional impact. The controversial movie was directed and produced by Mel Gibson, a devout Catholic, as a definitive, Biblically literal Passion story. As such, it can be pretentious, with the first scenes having moody lighting, lots of slow motion, and obvious symbolism. Satan is present as an effeminate figure.

The controversy about the film is the alleged anti-Semitism. The Jewish priests are argumentative bullies who repeatedly insist that Jesus be crucified, so they certainly look like the bad guys. Some movie reviewers have explained that Jesus was meant to die, so it is pointless to blame the priests.

But then, no one else looks very good either. The disciples are clueless, and children are demons. The Roman soldiers are sadistic thugs. Women fare better; they are compassionate.

There are no theological ruminations in the movie. We learn very little about Jesus or his teachings, although there are a few brief flashbacks. It isn't clear why his disciples follow him. There is not a sermon about Christianity as a religion, what Jesus was doing, or what we are supposed to do. The focus is visual and emotional, not intellectual.

It is interesting that almost two thousand years' worth of Christian theology is designed to explain an event that is basically inexplicable: the unfair, unjust torture and death of a good man. This is what gives the event its emotional impact.

Perhaps the important part isn't Jesus, but the other people reacting to his suffering. The people are unhappy, nasty, and unsympathetic, or in a word, sinful. One wonders what Jesus sees in them. But many have an occasional spark of empathy or concern. But only a spark. Was a result of Jesus's death to fan the sparks of goodness? That might be the humanistic interpretation.

The dominant emotions of the movie, though, aren't compassion, but an overriding sense of guilt, loss, and regret. It may reflect the Catholic bloody cross tradition, or the helplessness over the senseless death. It makes me sad if the most powerful emotion in Christianity is not a positive feeling of truth or fulfillment or love, but rather a negative feeling of guilt, loss, and fear of death. But that seems to be the most lasting message of the movie.

The film is rated R for violence. It is subtitled, with all spoken dialog in Latin or Aramaic.

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