Critical Reflection on The Movie "Passion of Christ"

The movie that seems to be on the tip of everyone's tongue is The Passion of the Christ. This movie has created great controversy among many people and has created uproar in the Jewish community. When I viewed the movie and thought about what I read in the Gospels I found that there is a great resemblance between the two. The movie actually clarified the Gospel accounts and elaborated on them. There were many parts of Jesus' last hours on earth that were still very scarce almost confusing. The movie was very powerful and gave a visual account based on Mel Gibson's account of the Gospel's and portrayed with a great deal of accuracy. The Pope was able to view this movie so that he could compare the movie to the actual Gospel accounts of Jesus' apostles. After viewing the movie the Pope concluded by saying 'It is as it was'. This is especially powerful because it gives the Pope's approval of the movie and it's clarity towards the Gospels.

There were many aspects of the movie that were worth mentioning but I will only mention a few. The first most noticeable aspect of the movie that is very important is the music. Most people wouldn't notice this, but the music; although very much in the background; created the mood. The music was powerful and melodic while it created drama and suspense. While listening to the music again it gives almost a scary feel and portrays the pain and suffering that Jesus endured for us. The composer, John Debussy feels very happy about the final product and the music that represented the devil. This arises my next point of mention. The depiction of the devil is quite interesting. The devil was played by a female actress, but also had many male qualities that created a balance. The devil had no eyebrows which is what for me gave it the feel that it was neither male nor female. The devil was very graceful and devious, which made the film very suspenseful. There was also the perfect balance in the Garden of Gesemane between good and evil, during the confrontation between Jesus and Satan. The use of Aramaic in the movie was, in my opinion, a great idea. It gave the viewer an idea of what it was like for Jesus to live in those times. The subtitles weren't that noticeable are we fine once you get used to them. The movie itself was very powerful and they didn't have to use many words to get the message across.

The use of violent images in the movie gave a clear message to the viewers an idea of what Jesus went through and the real reason he died on the cross. The movie might be a bit too much and it seems if Jesus is constantly beaten and it may at times be overwhelming.

There was much controversy in the fact that Mel Gibson was Anti-Semitist or not. From what I can see in the movie he really is a Christian and was just telling the story as his interpretation of it. During the interview with Diane Sawyer he stated that he was in fact Christian and he was only depicting his version of the story. The Jewish community has great fear that this movie will stir up past feelings of hatred towards them and hae classified this movie as Anti-Semitic. Many Jewish officials have contradicted themselves by saying that they don't believe that Mel is against them, but rather the film itself makes them look bad. By this I mean the Jews think that the film holds them responsible for Jesus' conviction and death. While watching the movie I found that I felt no influence by the Jewish people when Jesus was condemned and that goes the same for my peers. Therefore The Passion of the Christ has no Anti-Semitic scenes and Mel Gibson also doesn't hate the Jews.

As for my overall impression of the movie; I believe that it is worth seeing but this movie is not for the faint of heart. The movie, as I stated earlier, is very powerful and seems to want to really change a lot of people's views of Christ. There are many people who really don't understand what actually happened in the bible and the real version of Jesus' last 12 hours on earth. When Mel (Gibson) created this movie, it really opened many doors to people who weren't really that familiar with Jesus and his struggles. When the movie was released many people went to see it, not knowing what to expect, and leaving more knowledgeable and empowered. Many people like to see movies and therefore they can learn the story of Christ's last time on earth rather that having to read about in the bible. I also believe that the many issues that arose before the movies release where over played and exaggerated. I myself did not sense any anti-Semitism on Mel Gibson's part. He told it as it was. I recommend this movie very highly and I must warn viewers, THIS MOVIE IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.