To me this has to be the best movie ever made. Although I love it I do disagree with some of Mel Gibson's beliefs. Being Catholic myself there are some unbelievable parts. So what do you think of the movie?

I'm not catholic, I'm Christian, but I still enjoyed this film. Well... maybe "enjoyed" isn't really the word for it. I know that it was a great film, and I know it needed to be made but I actually found it very disturbing emotionally.

The biggest thing I disagreed with was the tearing down of the church at the end. In the bible it isn't the whole church that is torn usunder, it's just the curtain to the Holy of Holies. The curtain was symbolically a barrier between God and normal men. By tearing it in half, God was saying that he is attainable by all through his son. I thought this symbolism was lost in the film.

This thread is being reopened. Please remember to discuss the movie, and remember no mudslinging.

Everyone is going to have a different opinion on this movie, some will hate it, some will feel as though they saw something special. Let's remember to treat each other with respect and to respect each other's opinons.

Let the discussion begin!

I liked it alot!

I liked the movie, also. When movies are captioned or have sub-titles, I have this horrible habit of reading the dialogue and not actually "see" the movie. When "The Passion.." first started, I guess I didn't realize that it was sub-titled, and I thought "oh no", but I got so wrapped up in the film, it wasn't until it was over that I realized that I had read everything and still SAW the movie. I was totally engrossed the whole time, and shed a few tears as well.

I think this was a fantastic movie. I don't know that "enjoyed" is the best word for my feelings but I am very glad that I had the experience
Mary

Please take my opinion of this movie with a grain of salt. I didn't see the whole thing (the last half, maybe) so there may have been some parts in the beginning that were actually good.

I thought this movie was, overall, pretty stupid. It was full of horrible things that have absolutely no place in an entertainment venue. If I wanted to see a guy get tortured for two hours, I'm sure I could search the Internet awhile and find a nice snuff film to watch. As it is, I DON'T like to watch it, and if I could erase "The Passion" from my mind, then I would.

I also think the title inappropriate and misleading. The passion of Jesus was not in his death, but in the way he lived and in the message that he brought to people.

If you want to see a REALLY good commentary that looks both at the good messages of the film and its anti-semitic undercurrent, then I strongly suggest you watch South Park's "The Passion of the Jew". Nothing sums it up better.

Actually, LadyC, the definition of "The Passion" is:

a. The sufferings of Jesus in the period following the Last Supper and including the Crucifixion, as related in the New Testament.
b. A narrative, musical setting, or pictorial representation of Jesus's sufferings.

(www.dictionary.com)

You and I will disagree on the premise that "The Passion" deserves "no place in an entertainment venue" while "South Park" does. I respect your feelings toward the film and this is not directed at you, but I am amazed that many of the critics of the violence and brutality of "The Passion" are the same ones who applaud and exhalt films like "Pulp Fiction" and "Kill Bill 1 and 2".

The passion of Christ has much to do with his death. He literally took the consequences of our sin upon himself to spare us an inevitable fate. He then died and with his resurrection conquered death so that we may have the promise of eternal life. Without his crucifixion, Christ would have accomplished little of eternal value other than being a good example. This is the central tenet of Christiandom, not just that Jesus was a swell guy. I hope this helps explain the value of the film and why Christians viewed the film as a story of grace and redemption.

For the record, I hated "Pulp Fiction" and "Kill Bill vol 1". I didn't bother to watch vol 2.

I guess the film is aptly named, then. I had no idea that Christians used the word Passion to mean specifically the alleged sufferings of Jesus.

I still don't like, though, that Gibson used his medium to perpetuate the whole "believe in Christ lest you, too, suffer" agenda. I thought that was a thing of the Dark Ages. But hey, a movie about a life of quiet humbleness and generosity probably wouldn't have sold as many tickets.

I thought the movie was very good and i found it to be very thought provoking

This movie wasn't meant to be entertainment.

To me, it was something like going to a Good Friday service, where the emotions are evoked and the mind is set to thinking about weighty themes.

I think this was the best movie ever made from a Bible story. I had some minor quibbles (the raven pecking out the thief's eyes, especially right after Christ says forgive them for they know not what they do--was symbolically contradictiory), but overall, I think it was very well done--very powerful. I think people who aren't Christians probably won't "get it," and that most people who are Christians will be deeply moved. Some Christians, however, will consider it too graphic, a little exaggerated, and too focused on the suffering without enough explanation as to the WHY and not enough focus on the resurrection. To me, though, the complaint about the resurrection barely being mentioned is like going to a Good Friday service and complaining that it wasn't an Easter service. The film was about the Passion. Period. And as such, it was extremely effective.

i really like the movie. I went to go see it with my sister,my dad,and cousin,we all got teary eyed. I think this movie should be seen by not only catholic and cristian people but everyone else!

Edited by Sue943. Please don't post comments like that when you disagree with a post. Thank you.

I thought "The Passion" was very good. It followed the Bible very very closely...with just a few Catholic things thrown in. Overall I thought it was very moving. I do not think that it was too graphic. People knew...or atleast should have known what they were going to see when they decided to see it. A lot of people are saying that it wasn't entertaining. It's wasn't supposed to be. It's supposed to get the point across to you of what Jesus had to go through so that we all my live, and if you repent, have eternal life. He had all the sins of every single person in the world cast upon him. He did that so we wouldn't have to. I just thought that it was so amazing and helped me fully comprehend what he had to go through and how incredibly terrible it was.

I agree that the part with the raven didn't need to be in there, my dad said it was in the bible, but it just detracted from the scene.

I think the ressurection was displayed well. You got the idea that he defeated Satan and death and rose again. If it hadn't been shown then that wouldn't have been good because it would seem like we would have no hope. By him rising we were given hope...hope that one day...if we have him in our hearts, we will too rise from the dead and be with him forever in heaven.

It was a fantastic movie.

frodobeh, I agree with your asessment. This is not a movie I would watch regularly - I couldn't handle it emotionally- but it is an excellent reminder of the magnitude of God's love.

Many people said that this film was anti-semetic, and to some extent, they are right. I watched it recently and definitly felt an anti-semetic overtone, or should I say anti-Jew. Although the message of Jesus is powerfull, it should not be derived from a movie such as this. It was made by a man who belongs to a Catholic cult that still blames Jews for the death of Jesus. His father, the head of this cult, is a infamous Holocaust denier.

That being said, It made me mad when certain people tried to have this movie stopped. They claimed that the movies would lead to increased violence at Jews all over the world, but the opposite happened. Interfaith dioluges have been opened up, and the relationship between Jews and non-Jes grows closer, not farther apart.

eytank I don't think that Catholics believe that Jews killed Jesus...but I could be wrong about that since I am not Catholic.
If they do then they are wrong because every single person in the world is the reason why Jesus died. So, in reality, we all killed Jesus.

I, personally, didn't think the movie was anti-semetic. (however you spell it)

frodobeh

] Many people said that this film was anti-semetic, and to some extent, they are right. I watched it recently and definitly felt an anti-semetic overtone, or should I say anti-Jew.

I think charges of anti-semitism are quite ridiculous. Could you site any specific example anywhere in this movie of anti-semitism? What do you mean by an "anti-Jew overtone?" All of the heroes of this film are practicing Jews. The movie is almost exclusively about Jews--so every character (except the Romans), good and bad, positive and negative, is a Jew.

] It was made by a man who belongs to a Catholic cult that still blames Jews for the death of Jesus.

Cult? Please. He is a Traditionalist Catholic, which mostly means he prefers the Latin Mass and disagrees with Rome on some issues, but that doesn't make traditionalist Catholics members of a cult. And the Catholics (including the group of which Mel Gibson is a part) do not blame Jews for the death of Jesus, they blame everyone for the death of Jesus--and this is extremely clear in the movie. Mel Gibson appears only once in the movie--it is his hands that hammer in the nails into Christ's cross. Who do you think he's blaming for Christ's death? People who say modern day Christians blame the Jews for Christ's death don't understand Christians at all. We blame ourselves. That's the point.

] His father, the head of this cult, is a infamous Holocaust denier.

The head of what cult? What is this cult you are talking about?

I agree completley with you skylarb. No Christians, that I know of believe that the Jews killed Jesus.
Great point about Mel Gibson nailing Jesus to the cross.

Mel Gibson portrays Pontias Pilate as a weak man, who is dominated by the evil Jews. It is the evil Jewish priests who killed Jesus, not Pilate. That is one example of anti-semitism. I'm not going to analyze the whole movie, they have plenty of web sites on the Internet that do the job.

Maybe a cult is the wrong word. Still, these Traditionalist Catholics reject the second Vatican Council, the one which absolved Jews for the death of Jesus. If nobody blames us, why do we need absolution?

[It is the evil Jewish priests who killed Jesus, not Pilate. That is one example of anti-semitism.](Quote)

That's how it happened in the Bible. Pilate washed his hands of the matter and left the decision up to the people. The Jewish priests didn't like Jesus because he was taking all of their followers away. That's why they wanted him dead. By saying that part of the movie is anti-semetic then you are saying that the Bilbe is anti-semetic. (which it isn't IMO)

frodobeh

What is IMO?

IMO = in my opinion
IMHO = in my humble opinion