Review of The Passion of the Christ (2004) by Tim L — 07 Apr 2012

Well made and acted. This is the best adaptation of a much told tale I have seen since Robert Powell's performance in Jesus of Nazareth. It injects a much needed dose of reality into a story that is so well known as to ironically detract from it's power and dilute it somewhat in our minds. There is nothing diluted about this film, which shocks and moves you in the way that a film about such a crucial turning point in history should - whether you believe in what happened and/or it's significance, it is a huge part of our culture and how different societies throughout history perceived Christianity and this, the 'ultimate sacrifice.'.

I don't agree with the criticisms of anti-semitism, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Jesus (the 'hero' of the piece) IS Jewish (something that people often seem to forget) as are many of the disciples. Also, it was the Jewish leaders that persecuted Jesus, as it says in the Bible, but the majority of Jesus' supporters were also Jewish. Finally, the Romans are portrayed pretty badly in this film too, but that it isn't to say that it is 'anti-Italian.' Without the perpetrators of the horrendous death that Jesus went through, this film wouldn't have half the power that it does.

The fact that it is acted in Hebrew may discourage a lot of people from watching, as will the graphic brutality. But it is just this sort of devotion to realism that sets it apart from many other interpretations. One of the things that other films of Jesus' life and death often lose out to are a more reverential style (in the same way as many big screen takes on Shakespeare) and, in doing so ironically lose much of the power to move or compel the audience. This is something that I believe this film is more than capable of doing.