Review of The Passion of the Christ (2004) by Another V — 01 Oct 2016

This movie and my original review from 8 months ago crossed my mind recently. I was contemplating Christianity and the many interpretations of what it means to be a Christian and many interpretations of the right path, the Godly way.

I probably rated this movie fairly low primarily because it's not what I would prefer to see in a movie about Jesus. It doesn't quite fit my perspective on what is the most interesting and relevant contribution of Jesus.

Was his death the most important thing? Or his teachings? People followed him because words gave hope and guidance in a harsh and rigid world where Romans ruled and women were stoned to death for adultery, and punishments for various crimes were harsh. The Romans tortured and crucified a lot of people. Their empire was built on the backs of slaves captured in war. Many wars were fought solely for the purpose of bringing more slaves to the empire. Oops digressing.

Jesus was a Pacifist whose teachings bring to mind the achievements of Ghandi, Mandela, and Martin Luther King.

Love your neighbor as yourself. If someone hits your right cheek, turn and let him hit your left cheek also. Greater love has no man than this, that he would lay down his life for his friends. Do unto others as you would have done to you. It is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. (To a rich man) Give everything you have to the poor. All Jesus's words, not mine. If he lived in the modern day, what would Jesus probably say? Well, that's open to interpretation isn't it?

My original post from 8 months ago:

Jesus Christ of Nazareth has inspired a lot of movies.The Passion of the Christ is one of them, which happens to be one of the top-grossing movies of all time.

Well, this movie is Mel Gibson's take on the end of Jesus's life. Mel Gibson knows how to make torture and suffering look real.

History tells us the Romans really were that brutal.

I see an attempt to be true to the Biblical account. The three crosses scene, with Jesus and the 2 others to his left and right, seemed surreal and somehow very artistic. The lighting of the skies even made that scene look almost like a painting by one of the Great Masters. Jim Caviezel's classic Latin Jesus look contributes to the artistic effect.

But did I like it overall? No, not really. Unpleasantly brutal to watch.