The Passion of the Christ
So - I watched Mel Gibson's pet project today. And was mostly underwhelmed. It's well shot, and looks pretty, but, as a film, it's rubbish.
First off - most people know the story anyway. It's kind of a given that it's not going to end well.
Don't get me wrong: I have a lot of time for Jesus. I wouldn't call myself a Christian, but I think that Jesus was a pretty good bloke with a lot of interesting stuff to say - a peripatetic philosopher of the old school. Obviously, this blood-soaked saga is Mel trying to get closer to the actual man behind the suffering - it's almost as if he tries to make him more divine by emphasising his mortality. But then he puts Biblical words into Jesus' mouth - "Lord forgive them, they know not what they do", etc. He does convey how brutal crucifixion actually was - but; it's not like anyone ever thought it was otherwise. He doesn't show anything that anyone with any imagination hasn't already thought.
Jim Catweasel (or whatever his name is) just has to look pained and be drenched in fake blood. There are some occasional flashbacks to the Sermon on the Mount and the Last Supper and suchlike, but they're so brief and short that they might as well not be in there (although I did like the scene when Jesus makes a table. That, rather than watching the flesh being flayed from him bones, made him seem human.)
So - crucifiction hurts. It's not fun. Does the film make any point other than that? No. It's basically two hours of watching a guy getting a wincingly serious kicking. It says nothing about Jesus' message, it conveys nothing about what he actually said (it focuses entirely on how he died) - and actually makes Mr. Christ come across as a smug handwaving git. Oh - and the subtitles? They just distance you from the story even more. And I say that as a big fan of foreign films. "Carandiru" is superb. And says more about the human condition than this movie does.
posted by lostdog @ 12:47 am
7 comments
7 Comments:
This is "throw me a bone" comment, just because your a friend of a friend, too bad it had to be on a "I totally didn't get the Passion" blog.
But about that, Mr. Christ saw you coming. In the origianl Book, He said that most people wouldn't get what He was doing, that it would all seem like irrelevant nonsense. Maybe that's what happens when folks just wait for the movie...
Blog on.
Probably, you were not the intended audience for this particular film; I think, Mel Gibson was trying to hit Jesus' message home for Christians. People often misunderstand Christianity as being primarily concerned with what Jesus said, but the core of it is what he did, which I think is well depicted in the film for those who believe it. Without that, Christianity is basically a ludicrous religion.
Anyway, welcome to blog-land. I wish you well in your postings, and sorry about your flat-mate, er, cat.
Lostdog, I think you totally got the point. I did not want to watch the movie because I AM christian. I've learned from when I was little what he did for us, and I understand how much he suffered. It's part of me, it's part of how I've been raised. I do love him because of that. And didn't he tell us (in the person of Thomas, and also Peter), that we should believe without seeing, without having proof?
I do not want to watch Mr. Gibson's interpretation to believe.
Yeah! Controversy!
I'm not actually advocating that anyone see this movie because of the fact that it is intensely gory and harshly focused only on the crucifixion, but it's definitely not a pointless gore flick. If so, Mel is a sicko; I give him more credit than that. I don't think people are seeing it in order to believe that it really happened (like Thomas), probably just because of the controversy. The effect that it has had on many nominal Christians, however, is a reawakened sense of love for Jesus. It has reminded them that he was not just a guy who walked around petting lambs and being nice, which is how many preachers portray him, but a bad-ass who terrified people with his boldness, and then willingly submitted himself to extreme torture in order to free us and demonstrate his love for us. Mel Gibson has so much as said that's the point, and he's the one to know. So, if you don't need the wake-up call, definitely DON'T see it. My wife doesn't intend to, for the same reasons.
Wow. Thanks for all the comments, guys - you've certainly made me think a lot more about this film than I otherwise would have. I think you hit the nail on the head with your first post, chopper - I'm not the kind of viewer Mel made this for. He was preaching to the converted, and, as you said, trying to reawaken a sense of love in nominal Christians. If this movie has strengthened anyone's faith, them I'm all for it. Although I'm not a Christian myself, I do reckon that being uncompromisingly good to other people - no matter who they are - is a good character trait to nurture.
And I have to admit that maybe I was a little off in my review. Mel did what he set out to do, and did it well - but I'm criticising him for not making the film I wanted to see. I had high expectations of the movie, you see. So much so that the specificness of the title didn't really register. I was kind of expecting to see "The Life", or "The Teachings" rather than just wholly "The Passion of the Christ". The few flashbacks there were just served to frustrate me even more.
I suppose what annoyed me most about the film was that Mel Gibson missed out on a prime opportunity. The best that this film can do is to awaken a semi-dormant faith in someone - make them re-evaluate what they might have taken for granted - but what I was hoping for was a movie that at least had the possibility of actively converting atheists like me. It's an affirmation of existing beliefs rather than an exhortation to unbelievers - and, as such, it's a missed opportunity.
Wow, an atheist complaining about not being converted!? What is going on? I'm truly intrigued.
Really, lostdog, I love discussing these matters; you see, I'm a Christian after several years of arduous reasoning and questioning. I can't say I was ever atheist, but 'agnostic' was pretty fitting, and I think that conversion is something that a person chooses to do when it makes sense, so I don't intend to Bible thump you (even if you sound willing). If you're honestly seeking after some kind of answers to life's big questions, though, then I think you'll discover layer upon layer of truth right down to the core of Jesus. If not, please let me know; I'm interested in truth, not religiosity, and pretty open minded, although well established in my beliefs.
chopper - I appreciate a lot of what you said. A faith you're born into means very little against a faith that you only slowly win through arduous questioning. To me, faith in anything isn't something that can be bequeathed like an inheritance - it's something that you have to almost fight yourself to get. And I'm not just talking about Christian faith - faith in something other than yourself.
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