[NAIRB]

I watched the movie last night and will say that if you share the Christian faith, you will be moved by it. The movie covers the last hours of Christ's time on earth and his crucifixion. This movie is dubbed, but actually I think it added to the quality of the film.

There has been alot of controversy over the violence in the movie, but if you take the account of the bible to be true, then the suffering Jesus endured was reflected in the movie and probably resembled the truth of his death. The movie is about the suffering of Christ for his people, and that is why the violence is a focal point of the movie. It is about Christ's suffering.

This movie offers a different view than the watered down movies of the life of Christ, and impacted me deeply.

In your lifetime, you will watch a handful of monumental works on film, and this is one of them.

Note: I would not let small children, by any means watch this, as they would not understand and the violence is beyond PG.

[Ghetto Jet]

That was a nice unbiased review. NAIRB did you think the violence was strong enough to warrant the controversy?

Mike

[willys36@aol.com]

I don't know how you can tell the story properly without depicting the carnage that went on there. Isaiah 52:14 is a prophesy about the Crucifixion of Christ and says, "As many were astinished at thee; his visage was so marred more than the sons of men..." Psalm 52:17 says prophetically, "I may tell all my bones: they look and stare at me." The Bible is pretty clear that He was virtually butchered to death. Don't know how you can portray that event without being pretty violent.

[NAIRB]

Originally posted by Ghetto Jet
That was a nice unbiased review. NAIRB did you think the violence was strong enough to warrant the controversy?

Mike

I do not believe it warrants controversy. I truly believe that people don't want to hear or see the truth anymore. They want to change it or water it down. Nowadays, there are alot of folks who would prefer never to hear or mention anything about God, and when they do, they scream the loudest, making it appear that that the world has turned against the Christian faith, when it reality, at least in the US, the figure of 90 percent of the population holds to the Christian faith. It's the 10 percent who screams their heads of if you say "God" or "Jesus".

[paperairplane]

My grandmother, the mega-catholic of all time, went to a church sponsored viewing this morning. As of lunch today she is still disgusted and can't eat.

This was in no way what she expected a Catholic movie about Jesus to be like.

[Morginie]

My friend went to it and he said it was the most brutal movie he'd ever seen. The bible describes it as being brutal so I guess the movie holds up to what the bible says. I'm tires of seeing all these movies on christ that are watered down to be made more appealing to the christian culture, and when they do that they aren't telling what really happened.

[Gr8 '48 bow tie]

NAIRB, I agree with you on the content of the movie, but I disagree with you on the point that children should not see it. My reason is stated in proverbs 22:6. It reads as follows "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it". It is our reponsibility to teach and guide our children in every aspect of their lives. I believe that if you tell them before hand what they will be seeing so that they will not see all the blood and tears unexpectedly, they can learn from it. In order to tell the story the way the Bible portrays it, it is neccessary to show all the cruelty and blood. Without his shed blood for the redemption of our sins, we would still be killing animals and painting our door post with the blood and burning the flesh as a burnt offerings to God for attonement.

Praise God for sending Jesus as our substitute. All we need to do now is be washed in the blood. It is better than ANY soap!

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross. The emblem of suffering and shame. And I love that old cross where the dearest and best, for a world of lost sinners was slain.

So I'll cherish that old cross till at last my trophies I lay down. I will cling to that old rugged cross, and exchange it someday for a crown.




Al

[Ghetto Jet]

I agree with NAIRB, the movie is not for children. Just because it is a true story and important for a religious house hold does not mean that it won't have a negative impact on a young child. You have to look at it from a psychological point of view, not every child can handle seeing continuous violence that is far more gruesome than anything they have probably ever seen before, for many it would be traumatizing. Some adults find it sickening, imaging how the fragile mind of a child would react. Many churches are sending warning letters home to parents, other churches who have rented theaters are not allowing children to see the movie even with their parents.

Just my opinion

Mike

[crazy larry]

whats not violent about hitting a person in the head with rocks? or beating them with a whip? or nailing Him to a cross? anyone who can't feel anguish over that isn't worthy of His love.

i haven't seen it yet.
the movie 'saving private ryan' really put the hook in me, as far as what it's like to be shot at, have your buddies blown up and killed etc.etc.etc..... made me sick. i can imagine this movie will do the same several times over.
people suck.

[38 special]

Paper plane, You state it's a Catholic movie. Actually I think it's different than the Mainsteam Catholic religion. I saw an interview with Mel and he stated his was not the same as the normal Catholic religion, wahtever that meant? Apparently the movie and experince has moved him so much he's building a big church with his own money. (not trying to cause a religious conflict just stating what I saw)

[98rocket]

regarding gibson's faith, he is a "Catholic Traditionalist", which is an extremely conservative denomination. i've read that he places more importance on Jesus' sacrifice than Mary's (more along the lines of protestant belief).

i agree this was an excellent movie. here is a review i wrote for another forum:

Posted - 02/25/2004 : 10:15:46 PM

"i just got back from seeing this movie, and i felt pressed to write this:

whether you believe jesus was the son of man, or just a man, this movie will have a powerful effect on whoever sees it. i'll say it again: POWERFUL. i think the last time a film moved me as much as this was "saving private ryan".

"passion of the christ" is extremely graphic and realistic, and very painful to watch. a lot of people in the theater (men included) stayed until the credits were over, no doubt to blot their tears.

anyway, if you're looking for something better to watch than the typical hollywood crap that makes it into the theaters, check this movie out. it's well-made, it's definately not boring, and it's not aiming to convert anyone, just to accurately show what history recorded 2000 years ago. it will probably be disturbing, so be prepared (no probablys about it, don't bring the kids to this one).

if anyone else has seen the movie, i'd like to know your thoughts. "

[badknuckles]

i am aethiest and i am pretty sure that all of you are gonna tear me apart about this one but.
i have heard doctor's etc... have stated after watching the movie that it was unrealistic because of the amount of abuse he took he would have been dead long before the crucifiction.

[345coupe]

There was a "History vs. Hollywood" on the History Channel last night. Good points aplenty: If you make a movie on the literal words of the Bible, you'll have controversy. If you "interpret" the Bible, you'll have controversy. If you portray Christ in more human terms, (ala Last Temptation) you'll have controversy. Before I see the movie, I am going to reread the biblical accounts of the crucifixion.

If you believe that Christ died on the Cross for your sins, think about that. There was no lethal injection, you go to sleep, you die without pain or suffering, in the biblical times. I have not seen anyone die peacefully in their sleep. I have seen more than one person die in the streets from injury caused by hand of another. (I'm a police officer in case you wondered.) There is no way around it: Death of one person, at the hand of another, is a violent, gruesome, horrid way to go.

I believe that there tends to be too much violence in movies today. A movie about this subject will be violent, so who is to say what is "too much" Each will have to check their preconceptions at the door for this one. The Passion of the Christ may go down as the best Passion movie ever. I am not going to defend nor berate Mel Gibson for making the movie that is the "make or break" movie of his career. If nothing else, it will make hundreds, maybe millions of people look inside themselves and examine their own faiths.