The Passion Of The Christ

[BurkeViper]

No one has brought it up yet. I thought I would.

Are you going to see it? Have you seen it? If so what did you think?

I just got done seeing it....I have no words for what I just saw.


(Note: Sorry if your not religious or feel that I am pushing my religious faith onto you, it wasn't meant like that.)

[Inggy]

BurkeViper, no words, meaning you didnt like it and you dont want to talk about it? or no words like you were in awe and cant describe it?

[BurkeViper]

Inggy, "no words" meaning I'm speechless. I feel that this story is the greatest story ever written. Making this the best movie ever. I'm in awe.

Sorry.

[Inggy]

I think that it came out at a bad time. I think that if it woulda come out in the summer or fall, it would have a better chance to get an oscar. If you notice, all movies in the runnings are from that time frame.

If it came out just a few months earlier, it would have a huge chance, I think. to win many awards.

But, I am anxious to go see it

[BurkeViper]

Inggy, I was thinking the same thing. No one remembers movies from the beginning of the year. The only awards go to the movies that are still recent in our minds.

[Chales]

I really doubt that winning an oscar is up there on their priority list.

[NorCalStud686]

I saw it, the lady a few chairs down from me was on her knee's hyper ventalating(sp?) and A LOT of people were crying.

Anyone hear about the lady in kansas that had a heart attack when jesus dies?

[BurkeViper]

Chales, I think the same, but I would like to see an awesome movie get rewarded and recognized by the film industry other than for reasons of controversy. I'm not saying the film industry hasn't already done that; but an award would be nice.

[todd]

I haven't quit thinking about the movie.I've never been so movedby a film.Here is a review.Sorry it's so long...but worth reading.


A News Anchor's Perspective on "The Passion of the
Christ" by Jody Dean,
the Dallas/Ft. Worth anchor for CBS News.

I thought I'd give you my reaction after seeing it last
week.

There were about 2,000 people there, and the movie was
shown after
several speakers had taken the podium. It started
around 9:00 and
finished around 11:00...about two hours in length.
Frankly, I lost
complete track of time - so I can't be sure.

I read a lot - and have covered stories and scenes that
still make me
wince. I also have a vivid imagination, and have the
ability to picture
things as they must have happened - or to anticipate
things as they will
be portrayed. I have also seen an enormous amount of
footage from
Gibson's film, so I thought I knew what was coming.

But there is nothing in my existence - nothing I could
have read, seen,
heard, thought or known that could have prepared me for
what I saw on
screen last night.

This is not a movie that anyone will "like".
I don't think it's a movie anyone will "love".
It certainly doesn't "entertain".
There isn't even the sense that one has just watched a
movie. What it is
an experience - on a level of primary emotion that is
scarcely
comprehensible.

Every shred of human preconception or predisposition is
utterly stripped
away.
No one will eat popcorn during this film.
Some may not eat for days after they've seen it.
Quite honestly, I wanted to vomit. It hits that hard.

I can see why some people are worried about how the
film portrays the
Jews.
They should be worried.
No, it's not anti-Semitic.
What it is, is entirely shattering.
There are no "winners".
No one comes off looking "good" - except Jesus.
Even His own mother hesitates.

As depicted, the Jewish leaders of Jesus' day merely do
what any of us
would have done - and still do.They protected their
perceived "place" -
their sense of safety and security, and the
satisfaction of their own
"rightness".

But everyone falters.
Caiphus judges.
Peter denies.
Judas betrays.
Simon the Cyrene balks.
Mark runs away.
Pilate equivocates.
The crowd mocks.
The soldiers laugh.
Longinus still stabs with his pilus.
The centurion still carries out his orders.
And as Jesus fixes them all with a glance, they still
turn away.

The Jews, the Romans, Jesus' friends - they all fall.
Everyone, except
the Principal Figure. Heaven sheds a single, mighty
tear - and as blood
and water spew from His side, the complacency of all
creation is
eternally shattered.

The film grabs you in the first five seconds, and never
lets go. The
brutality, humiliation, and gore are almost
inconceivable - and still
probably does not go far enough.
The scourging alone seems to never end, and you cringe
at the sound and
splatter of every blow - no matter how steely your
nerves.

Even those who have known combat or prison will have
trouble, no matter
their experience - because this Man was not
conscripted.
He went willingly, laying down His entirety for all.
It is one thing for a soldier to die for his
countrymen.
It's something else entirely to think of even a common
man dying for
those who hate and wish to kill him.

But this is no common man.
This is the King of the Universe.
The idea that anyone could or would have gone through
such punishment is
unthinkable - but this Man was completely innocent,
completely holy -
and paying the price for others.
He screams as He is laid upon the cross, "Father, they
don't know.
They don't know..."

What Gibson has done is to use all of his considerable
skill to portray
the most dramatic moment of the most dramatic events
since the dawn of
time.

There is no escape.
It's a punch to the gut that puts you on the canvas,
and you don't get
up. You are simply confronted by the horror of what was
done - what had
to be done - and why.
Throughout the entire film, I found myself apologizing.
What you've heard about how audiences have reacted is
true. There was no
sound after the film's conclusion. No noise at all.
No one got up.
No one moved.
The only sound one could hear was sobbing.

In all my years of public life, I have never heard
anything like that.
I told many of you that Gibson had reportedly re-shot
the ending to
include more "hope" through the Resurrection?
That's not true.

The Resurrection scene is perhaps the shortest in the
entire movie - and
yet it packs a punch that can't be quantified.
It is perfect.
There is no way to negotiate the meaning out of it.
It simply asks, "Now, what will you do?"

I'll leave the details to you, in the hope that you
will see the film
-
but one thing above all stands out, and I have to tell
you about it.

It comes from the end of Jesus' temptations in the
wilderness - where
the Bible says Satan left him "until a more opportune
time."
I imagine Satan never quit tempting Christ, but this
film captures
beyond words the most opportune time.
At every step of the way, Satan is there at Jesus' side
- imploring Him
to quit, reasoning with Him to give up, and seducing
Him to surrender.

For the first time, one gets a heart-stopping idea of
the sense of
madness that must have enveloped Jesus - a sense of the
evil that was at
His very elbow.

The physical punishment is relentless - but it's the
sense of
psychological torture that is most overwhelming.

He should have quit.
He should have opened His mouth.
He should have called 10,000 angels.
No one would have blamed Him.

What we deserve is obvious.
But He couldn't do that. He wouldn't do that.
He didn't do that.
He doesn't do that.
It was not and is not His character.
He was obedient, all the way to the cross - and you
feel the real
meaning of that phrase in a place the human heart
usually doesn't dare
to go.

You understand that we are called to that same level of
obedience.
With Jesus' humanity so irresistibly on display, you
understand that we
have no excuse.
There is no place to hide.

The truth is this: Is it just a "movie"?
In a way, yes.
But it goes far beyond that, in a fashion I've never
felt - in any
forum. We may think we "know". We know nothing.

We've gone 2,000 years - used to the idea of a pleasant
story, and a
sanitized Christ. We expect the ending, because we've
heard it so many
times.
God forgive us.

This film tears that all away.

It is as close as any of us will ever get to knowing,
until we fully
know. Paul understood. "Be urgent, in and out of
season."

Luke wrote that Jesus reveals Himself in the breaking
of the bread.
Exactly. The Passion Of The Christ shows that Bread
being broken.

Go see this movie.

[Maestro]

Haven't yet seen it, but plan to. And yes, I highly doubt they made the movie in hope of winning awards.

[Dave W]

I'm going to see it wednesday. I have a feeling that even though I'm prepared for a moving experience because all the reviewers and critics have said it will be, I still won't be prepared for this movie. I guess I'll find out in a few days.

[scooter]

in all seriousness im just wondering are you able to eat popcorn during the movie? or would that be rude
________
Hip problems advice

[BurkeViper]

I don't see how that would be rude. I mean, I did it.

[Zach M]

It's not that it'd be rude to eat popcorn, it's that it could be hard to keep down. This movie is more graphic than anything you've ever seen in your life. As far as awards go, this movie isn't about awards. It's about the experience. Jody Dean hit it on the head when he said that this isn't a movie that people will like or love. It's not entertainment, it's a movie that causes you to think, that makes you question things, and that ultimately changes you. I was left speechless for hours after the movie, and I'm continuing to think about the movie a day later.

I am a religious person, so I had connections to the story and the movie. I'm wondering how some of you non-religious people felt. Did it move you in the same way? Do you have questions regarding the story, or anything else?

[vance]

I saw it last night. It was insanely powerful. People had to get up and leave. I'm not afraid at all to admit I cried. Its crazy how I thought this movie was the best movie I have ever seen yet I never want to see it again.

[jeffrey_25]

Hearing comment from Vance and Burk you realize that the movie doesn't care about getting awards. The movie was probably created for the sole purpose of reaching out to people like you guys who loved the movie/story.

[Bill Y Bob]

[jeffrey_25]

No doubt. Stupid movies are the greatest but at the same time sometimes when you see movies like Passion or Gladiator, the scenes and story just blow you away.

[finkle]

I hate awards and award shows. They are cheesy and pathetic. I'm talking about all of them, oscars and grammy's included.

I'd say that most all films are made in mind to entertain or inspire. Those that are made with awards in mind usually won't win awards.

I am looking forward to seeing this film. I've heard what Gibson has said about the film and I feel I can walk in better prepared and in a better frame of mind than the next guy.

[Dragonlady8]

No I haven't seen it yet, but I've been hearing rumors about the graphic natural of the crucifixition.
Couldn't have been as bad as some of the scenes from Gladiator or Braveheart? or do I stand corrected?

[andrew james]

HAHAHA, if you don't think this movie was designed with money in mind, you've got another thing coming.

It's america, how much risk do you really take releasing a movie about jesus here? Duh.

[BurkeViper]

Dragonlady8, it is pretty bloody, more than Gladiator (never seen Braveheart). Basically the whole movie is filled with bloody scenes. It's 2 hours and 6 minutes long and I'd guess 30 mins (I'm being very generous here) didn't involve him being beaten and so forth.

andrew james, I take it you're not religious. Mel Gibson used 30 million of his own money to make this movie. It isn't about the money.

[Jello John]

[jeffrey_25]

[Chales]

I haven't really been following that closely so I don't know if this has been mentioned, but isn't there a bit of a condradiction in a graphic/violent film about Jesus Christ? I'm sure a movie like this never would have gotten through about 30 years ago. They wouldn't even show His face...

[SupraBoarder]

Saw it the other day... loved the whole movie... very powerful


but I'm wondering why it didn't say: "Based on the best-selling book"

[jeffrey_25]

What's wrong with violence? If you think about all that Jesus went through I think he deserves not to have his story forgotten or have people think it was just a pin prick in his hand and they really tied him to the cross after he was pulled up a mountain in a carriage surrouned by thousands of worshippers while a horse carried the cross. You can't smooth out the violent parts of the story. People were brutal back then and if Jesus have to put up with it then we should know the sacrifices he made.

[bizzuck]

Chales

[Dave W]

Hmmm... Chales. How much do you know about the passion story? Not trying to rip on you in any way shape or form. It just sounds like you aren't too familiar with it. A large part of Christianity is based on the idea that the only sinless person to have ever walked the face of the earth was killed in perhaps the most horrible way imagineable so that mankind could be saved. So it's not really a contradiction, it's just a portrayal of the story as written in the four gospels.

That's just a basic synopsis.

[vance]

I couldn't even watch the seen of Him being nailed to the cross. The sounds alone told the story.

[drifter136]

I am a non-religious person. I haven't seen it yet, but I will probably see it with some friends (who are religious). Since I am not religious, i will not be seeing it from that angle, I will however be seeing it for it's power. I have been a great fan of Mel Gibson's work and how much heart and soul he puts forth. I enjoy it when someone's passion comes out in what they do.

Although, I'm not religious, I will more than likely be moved by the film.

[ben746]

I cant wait to see it. There was an article that said that Mel Gibson researched this movie for about 12 years. Thats some awesome dedication there.

[Jello John]

[ohsix]

[ontrider]