The Passion of the Christ

Last night I went to see Mel Gibson's portrayal of the last 12 hours of Christ's life with my flat mate Andrew Shammy, which I found very powerful and thought provoking. In parts it was quite hard to keep watching because of what it means to me personally also the violence is quite brutal, however I would definitely recommend going to see it, since it is exceptionally well done.

I think the decision to make the film in Latin and Aramaic was a very good one, since this gives the film a lot more integrity. The story of Christ has been told so many times throughout history that sometimes the words in English can sound trite and cliched, so hearing the Latin and Aramaic was really quite refreshing and definitely helped to authenticate the story for me.

Another thing I thought worked well, was the personification of Satan; apparently Mel Gibson wanted to create a being that was attractive and yet had something about them that was not quite right; so he chose a woman for the part and dubbed over a male voice, consequently Satan is portrayed as this androgynous, timeless figure that could have just as easily featured in the Lord of the Rings, the Matrix or Star Wars. Personally I think having Satan as an actual character is a clever way of highlighting the reality of the unseen spiritual opposition that Christ faced in fulfilling his mission on earth, without "superspirititualising" things.

Although Jesus doesn't actually say a lot, Jim Caviezel carries the part off well; apparently when Mel Gibson asked him if he would play the part he was quite taken aback and pointed out that he was 33 years old and had the initials JC, which according to reports hadn't dawned on Mel Gibson!

Anyway I'd be interested to hear what you think of the film, is it out yet in the UK?

Later!

Ayley