The Passion of the Christ

Mel Gibson 2003

Unnecessarily brutal and bloodthirsty (and boy do I mean bloodthirsty) account of the last 12 hours of Christ’s life. Gibson shows very little of Christ’s life and work outside this 12-hour period and consequently the film becomes simply 2 hours of watching Christ be beaten up.

On the plus side, the cinematography is stunning, the Italian countryside has a wonderful timeless quality, and the acting cannot be faulted. The film looks polished and well done but just lacks any real character depth.

I believe Gibson thought that everyone in the audience would be well versed in the Bible and need no background detail. However even for the deeply religious viewers I don’t see the appeal of this film. Graphic to the point of nausea, someone should have whispered in Gibson’s ear….less is more.

For a true masterpiece concerning Christ and his life and death I would recommend “Il Vangelo secondo Matteo” (“The Gospel According to Saint Matthew”) by Pier Paolo Pasolini.