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THE PASSION OF THE BLOOD!!! |
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Glenn explains why he thought "The Passion Of The Christ" was a sadistic minefield of violence and poor directing!!!bloodevilsatan!!!! |
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Jesus just CAN'T CATCH A BREAK, can he? |
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When the idea for The Passion Of The Christ first arose I was intent on not seeing it. Hoping it would pass by like some insignificant speck of dust in the wind. And then it began. IT. The film steamrolled into a big massive ball of hype, it was as if it was a separate entity from the rest of the world. The trailer actually got me semi-interested and the posters were wonderfully moody and with a sense of wonder in them. And then what do ya know? It becomes one of the highest grossing movies of all time (although to be fair, in Australia it�s gross was pretty low comparatively). What was originally a film that I had no desire to see had turned into an event movie. However, when I walked out of the cinema I felt numb.
This movie does not make you feel peace, generosity or harmony. It hits you over the head with a blunt object and subjects you to sporadic beatings of brutal force. It spills gallons of blood all over you and expects you to be enlightened. It visually rapes you and then leaves you lying in the gutter.
By now we all the know story of this movie. The last 12 hours in the life of Jesus Christ. We meet Jesus (Jim Caviezel, Frequency) as he�s talking to a couple of disciples. In the meantime one of the other disciples is betraying Jesus to the evil and demonic Jewish people. A violent attack on Jesus ensues. From hereon out there is more violence, followed by violence, followed by scenes wallowing in the violence we just saw. And then just to top things off we get some more violence and a last helping of violence for the road. And then A TEAR FROM HEAVEN. Sorry if I choke on my popcorn. |
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There are other characters in this movie. Jesus� mother (Maia Morgenstern, Balanta) stands around and cries a whole lot (understandably so, but character arc this is not) while Magdalene (Monica Bellucci, Irreversible) does the same although we�re not sure why (granted, most people do but if you�re unwise with the gospels you�d be hard-pressed to figure it out). Even Satan shows up for a while in the guise of Rosalinda Celentano (Sin Eater). But the standout among a cast of dead weights is Hristo Shopov who plays the Pilate who is some form of� something. Again, we�re not really told who anyone is. You know you�re Jesus film has problems with Pilate is the standout!
Technically though the film is in excellent hands. Cinematographer Caleb Deschanel does a superb job of framing the violence and Romanian hillsides, while costume designer Maurizio Millenotti also provides excellent work. But ultimately the film�s failing comes from the hand that crafted it: Mel Gibson.
Yes, it�s true that he invested his own money to make this film and yes, it is true that it is indeed a labour of love for the man. But there comes a point when your passion for the material turns into blind sadism. There was no need for Gibson to show 10-minute torture scenes in high graphic detail. |
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"Jesus to casting agent: My mother is played by a twice divorced woman and Magdalene by a woman who's had sex on screen! Weird, no?" |
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His use of symbolism reeks of heavy handedness (see the Teardrops from Heaven scene for symbolism at it�s worst) and his artistic decisions such as assuming everyone knows everything about the bible is a major miscalculation. His direction lets what would have been a perfectly mediocre telling of Jesus� story into a needless bloodbath that gives off a stench of hypocrisy. Isn�t Jesus� story meant to be about hope, not anger? Peace, not hatred? Yet, there is not one piece of enlightenment throughout this entire film. Instead I sat there feeling as if my eyes were being subjected to needless, disgusting and repetitive violence. That this film wasn�t rated R18+ in Australia is a travesty of the Office Of Film & Literature Classification. In a day and age where Christian and Family lobby groups can make a film such as Hannibal get it�s rating changed from MA15+ (which this film is also rated) into an R, yet this film, which is much, much more violent (and unforgiving in its onslaught) does not is just pathetic.
Nobody, Christian or not, deserves to witness this violence. Some may call it spiritual, I call is masochistic.
Overall, Gibson�s direction turns this into a bloody disaster. Hard to watch and impossible to like, this film is too disgusting to be called a religious film, however kinky that cat-o-ninetails is. Catwoman should look that dude up! D |
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To avoid the violence, escape to Glenn's page! |
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Or retreat to the Home page! |
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