Passion of the Christ

So Hwa wanted to watch this, and brought me along. He gives it 2 stars, and I 3. Naturally, I have comments aplenty.

On the whole, I got the impression that this is what Faces of Death would look like if it were extended to a 2 hour movie special. Nay, a correction: Faces of Death is not as sick or sadistic, and does not dwell on pain, suffering or torment as much (at least from my impression of the 1 1/2 episodes I inadvertently watched). From the lines, "Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and struck him with their hands", Mel Gibson has produced one of the most graphic, extended and shocking movie torture scenes in history (trumping his performance years back in Braveheart by magnitudes, I might add), one that only the most warped of serial killers would be able to conjure up.

No doubt, this is in part due to the use of such dubitable sources as "The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ", in addition to the New Testament Canon. Mel Gibson probably also wanted to shock this generation, desensitised as it is already to violence. So what's next? Gutting people, tying their intestines to a tree and then kicking them off a cliff? I am sickened.

Going by general censorship guidelines in Singapore, I think this film would have received a R(A) rating (and not the M18 rating), or even been rejected (like Showgirls was), but for the religious element. Churches normally condemn violence and gore in the media, but in this case, they endorse it because it's a religious film. Going by the same logic, normally killing people is wrong, but if it's in the name of your god, it's perfectly fine! Ho hum.

Gratuitous violence and bloodshed aside, it is a gripping retelling of a good story, and for that Mel Gibson has to be applauded.

Charges of anti-Semitism have been levelled at the film, and even if one does not agree, it seemed wholly sympathetic towards the Romans, and made the raving mad Jewish mob and the bushy-bearded Rabbis look wholly responsible for Jesus' death. I do not blame them, really. If you have divine commandments setting strict laws and then decreeing death for any who blaspheme, can you really blame your Chosen People for killing someone claiming to be your son and trying to upset your millennia old covenant - blasphemy of the highest order (I read quote about this issue once but cannot locate it now so this paraphrase will have to suffice), especially with many false Messiahs having appeared previously? This also skirts the tricky moral issue of how you can punish people for being unwitting pawns in your plan to redeem all of humanity and washing away their sins by sacrificing your beloved offspring to yourself so you won't have to condemn everyone to eternal torment in hell.

The use of Aramic and Latin is touted as lending the film an air of authenticity. This sounds reasonable, but for the fact that Greek, not Latin, was the Lingua Franca in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), and the original New Testament Gospels were in Greek (so what the original words were, even if they were spoken in Aramic, is uncertain). How someone would be able to talk, walk and even carry a cross after being practically scourged to death and losing enough fluid to go into severe shock was also unexplained (though the numerous falls did remind me of my Route Marches). I was also mildly disturbed on seeing a pair of rope stirrups. Historical fault! Finally, Hwa couldn't recognise Monica Bellucci, probably because she seemed to have bound her breasts.

Aside: It seems cinemas gave up on the "please turn off your handphones" public service announcements long ago, having admitted defeat. Now if only the RIAA did the same...


Skeptic's Annotated Quran - brought to you by the people behind the Skeptic's Annotated Bible. Something I must check out after Lancer.