Cast:
James Caviezel - Jesus Christ
Maia Morgenstern - Mary
Monica Bellucci - Mary Magdalene
Rosalinda Celentano - Satan
Claudia Gerini - Pilatus Wife
Ivano Marescotti - Pilatus
Francesco De Vito – Peter
Hristo Jivkov – John
Luca Lionello - Judas
Sergio Rubini .... Dismas

“Like a lamb to the slaughter” – that’s the line that is running through my mind. The opening day of the release of the Mel Gibson film, The Passion of the Christ, was a busy day at theaters. Locally in my city the 1:10 PM showing I attended was nearly sold out.

I arrived about forty-five minutes before the start and waited in the long line that stretched down the hall from the auditorium. It was interesting to observe people busily chatting, munching popcorn and sipping their sodas. Some appeared anxious and expectant. Maybe that was the expression I wore, too. Usually I don’t like to know too much about a movie before I see it, but with this film I felt it was necessary to research it and follow the publicity. So, I was steeled for the brutal violence, pensive about the context of the crucifixion story, and cautiously optimistic.

This movie is powerful – visually, emotionally and spiritually. Many people may have trouble watching it. I believe each person’s response will be personal, so I’m hesitant to even present my views as a review. Perhaps you should take it as my response.

I study the Gospel stories and I’m attempting to journey with Christ each day. Still, I wrestle with the question of why this apparently innocent and good man was brutally beaten and crucified. The answer, I believe, is that God demonstrates His unconditional love through His only begotten son. The atonement for our sins has to be viewed as more than a transaction for our sins. It was a way to conquer our death - the death of separation from the God who is willing to show us how to live in/with and through Him.

Many who see the movie will wonder about the reasons for condemning this man to death and why there was so much suffering involved. Jesus showed us that the willingness to die for all of us, even those who don't understand the purpose, demonstrates the redemptive quality of unconditional love, mercy and forgiveness. Hence, the line: “like a lamb to the slaughter.” It’s from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, 53:7 and is an accurate statement about the Messiah who silently accepts his fate. God's son wants us to know that the Father is not angry with us or demanding that we be good before he loves us.

Jesus did obey his life mission. He accepted and obeyed His Father’s will, but he also struggled over the enormity of it. This struggle is reflected in the opening sequence of the film where Jesus is praying in the garden of Gethsemane so fervently that he is sweating blood. Satan appears in the disturbing guise of an androgynous, pale being who tells Jesus that what he is to do is too much for any man, that “No one ever - never - can die for all sin”. Jesus throws himself all the more into fervent prayer and resolves that his heart is ready. Then he stands and stomps the head of the snake that has slithered from underneath Satan.

The taut dramatic tension of the arrest of Jesus, the brutal interrogation by the Pharisees and religious leaders, the ultimate condemnation to death by Pontius Pilate (who really wants to just be done with it, but not take responsibility for the execution) and the agonizing beating, scourging, and crucifying of Jesus of Nazareth are images that will stay with me forever. Mel Gibson knows how to make a movie that is powerful cinema, but he’s always shown a penchant for movie violence. The movie-making technique and expertise of his entire team delivers the story of Christ’s passion to the screen in a way we’ve never seen before. And, clearly that was the intent.

The betrayal by Judas and his eventual remorse that leads to suicide; Peter’s denial and consequent grief; Mary, the mother of Jesus in conflicted, yet faithful and loving commitment to her son –her “flesh of my flesh, heart of my heart”; and the heart-wrenching way of the cross are all intense parts of the story. There are many vivid scenes, moments of hate and moments of overwhelming compassion and love.

I did not see any evidence of blaming the Jewish race for the killing of Jesus. There are Jewish religious leaders calling for his death and their motivation is more of concern over Rome harshly persecuting the Jewish people during Passover. The people of that time were already under severe oppression by the occupying Romans and they didn’t want to give the government reasons for repercussions. Plus, the religious leaders were interested in protecting their interests and Jesus was a direct challenge to that. If any one group would be singled out for brutality and excessive punishment it would be the Roman soldiers and guards, some of whom appear to revel in their sadistic torture of Jesus.

The movie effectively inserts a number of short flashback sequences. A few are dramatized without scriptural support. However, I was grateful to see how these sequences gave some context to Jesus’ message to love others, including your enemies, and that he accepted death to testify to these teachings.

A huge part of the Jesus story is that he chose to lay down his life. And he predicted that he would rise from death; that he would pick up his life again.

The triumph of the story, and in my opinion it is in the movie on at least an implied level, is that Christ died out of love for each and every person. Even for those who were viciously carrying out his execution. He cries “Father, Father, forgive them” more than once. That Jesus, the son of God, can bear our sins, forgive us, love us and die for us is so confrontational that people will always either rebel at or surrender to the meaning.

It’s right to be concerned about the violence in the film. Some people will have more difficulty with it than others. I don’t think it’s a movie to be seen by young children and there should be some serious thought given to taking teenagers. Anyone who sees it should seek out others to discuss it. This is a movie that is meant for sharing, talking about and for searching beyond the passion story to discover who this Cosmic Christ really is. Start with the end of the movie and the scene in the tomb and a clearly alive Jesus “rising” from a seated position, a body no longer bloody and battered but a hand clearly bearing the hole from a nail.

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more about the movie on the Living the Solution site here.