A very violent 'passion'

[Guest guest]

 

 

A very violent 'passion'

Mel Gibson's movie about the last hours in the life of Jesus Christ is his riskiest yet

By HOLLY McCLURE

Mel Gibson directs Jim Caviezel as Jesus in 'The Passion.'

Mel Gibson has played a series of fervent men. William Wallace in "Braveheart" had a passion for freedom that revolutionized Scotland. Benjamin Martin in "The Patriot" heroically defended his family and the rights of Americans to live freely. Lt. Col. Hal Moore in "We Were Soldiers" was fiercely dedicated to bringing every soldier home from Vietnam. Heck, even Rocky Rhodes, his Claymation rooster in "Chicken Run," was desperate to free his flightless flock.

 

But Gibson's latest project promises to be the most urgent and heartfelt — and the riskiest— of them all.

 

 

The director of 1993's "The Man Without a Face" and 1995's Oscar-winning "Braveheart" has chosen to direct a story about the final 12 hours of Jesus' suffering for mankind. "The Passion," now in production, will primarily focus on the betrayal, trial and death of Christ, culminating with his graphic crucifixion and resurrection in the tomb. The movie will be spoken entirely in Aramaic and Latin, the languages spoken in Jerusalem in Jesus' time.

 

For those of us who haven't mastered Aramaic but enjoy films with subtitles, we're out of luck. There won't be any subtitles. Whether this is a stroke of genius or an attempt to commit career suicide, it's an eye-opening example of a major Hollywood star defying Hollywood logic.

 

Why would Mel Gibson make a movie about Jesus in languages few can understand or read? "It will lend even more authenticity and realism to the film," he says. "Subtitles would somehow spoil the effect that I want to achieve. It would alienate you and you'd be very aware that you were watching a film if you saw lettering coming up on the bottom of it. Hopefully, I'll be able to transcend the language barriers with my visual storytelling. If I fail, I fail, but at least it'll be a monumental failure."

 

The further significance of Aramaic being spoken in "The Passion" is that it will revisit the sacrifice Jesus made in Jesus' own language. Instead of the world getting another Hollywood production of Americanized Christianity, Gibson's movie will provide an authentic form of Christ's message.

 

According to Entertainment Weekly, Gibson, 47, is the third most powerful man in the business (behind Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg). That leads to the natural assumption that the studios would line up to distribute whatever project he wants to do. But "The Passion" has met with little enthusiasm in Hollywood.

 

"My partners and I went searching for a studio to attach to the project, but no one would touch it," he says with a smile. "They all said, 'Are you crazy? Why are you doing a Jesus movie in Aramaic?' Obviously, nobody wants to touch something filmed in two dead languages, but I understand, because I would have rejected me too if I heard my pitch." The film will likely open at Easter 2004 — assuming Gibson and his producers at Icon Productions, Bruce Davey and Steve McEveety, can find a distributor.

 

Ten years in gestation, the project is a "labor of love" for Gibson. The script he wrote with Benedict Fitzgerald ("Wise Blood") is taken directly from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John or, as Gibson likes to refer to them, "four obscure writers." It also draws on an old book Gibson found in his library, "The Dolorous Passion," by Anne Catherine Emmerich. He says he didn't know he had it until it literally fell into his hands when he was reaching for another book. After years of writing, reworking the script and waiting for the right moment, Gibson was ready to make his ode to Christ.

 

"The Passion" stars Jim Caviezel as Jesus, Romanian actress Maia Morgenstern as his mother, Mary, and Italian star Monica Bellucci as Mary Magdalene. For obvious reasons, Gibson had to look outside the Holy Land for a location, and he found what he was looking for in Italy.

 

"I chose Italy, because it's a great country to work in," he says. "It's also a big melting pot and has a huge and diverse talent pool." The crucifixion scenes were filmed in the beautiful, southern city of Matera, where Pier Paolo Pasolini shot his 1964 movie "The Gospel According to St. Matthew."

 

"Certain sections of the city are 2,000 years old," says Gibson, "and the architecture, the blocks of stone and the surrounding areas and rocky terrain added a vista and backdrop that we [used] to create the backdrops for our lavish sets of Jerusalem. We relied heavily on the look that was there. In fact, the first time I saw it, I just went crazy, because it was so perfect."

 

BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS

 

On the outskirts of Rome, past the ancient ruins of the baths of Caracalla and the Catacombs, is the legendary Cinecitta studio. On the back lot, directly across from the decaying wooden sidewalks and faded storefronts used in Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York," is Jerusalem — or at least a 2 1/2-acre scale replica of it. Production designer Francesco Frigeri and decorator Carlo Gervasi have created a massive set, complete with a temple, courtyard, a praetorium and Pontius Pilate's palace. It is a spectacle of truly biblical proportions: giant columns, flights of stone steps, massive wooden doors, weathered Roman emblems, vendors' canopies and pottery.

 

Inside the gold-washed temple walls, smoke fills the air as the cast and crew of hundreds wait for direction, as if posing for a painting. The handcrafted costumes in beige, brown and black are designed by the award-winning Maurizio Millenotti. The special effects, makeup and hair department — which has custom-fitted every beard, hairpiece and braid to the actors — were flown in from Los Angeles, because of their unique ability to create what Gibson needed for the scenes in which Jesus is whipped and crucified.

 

Gibson says it is crucial that the story look realistic, not, as he puts it, "like a cheesy Hollywood epic." He chose cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, who worked with him on "The Patriot." Deschanel took as his inspiration the dramatically lit works of the Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio.

 

"The only reason anyone knows anything about this guy is from prison records, because he was a wild man, a rabble-rouser," Gibson says of Caravaggio. "But I think his work is beautiful. It's violent, it's dark, it's spiritual and it also has an odd whimsy or strangeness to it. And it's so real-looking. I told Caleb I wanted my movie to look like that and he said, 'Yeah, OK.' Just like that."

 

Though 40% of his film is being shot at night or indoors in low light, Gibson was surprised when he saw the first dailies. "I said, 'Oh my God, it's a moving Caravaggio!' And Caleb went, 'Well, that's what you asked for, isn't it?' He's so casual about this stuff."

 

As driven as Gibson is about this movie, he maintains an affable demeanor on the set, treating cast and crew with respect. He isn't above donning a red clown nose or burping through his bullhorn to lighten the atmosphere. It would be easy to misdiagnose his exuberance as hyperactivity. But in truth, he simply loves what he's doing.

 

The cast and crew is comprised of an international group from Romania, Algeria, Tunisia, Bulgaria and Israel, as well as Italy, the U.S. and other countries.

 

"We have Muslims, Jews, Christians, Buddhists, even agnostics," says Gibson, "and all are working together on this thing in perfect harmony. And they're all getting something out of it — people have been touched. They ought to let us run the United Nations.

 

WORKING MIRACLES?

 

"There is an interesting power in the script," he adds. "A lot of unusual things have been happening — good things, like people being healed of diseases. A guy who was struck by lightning while we were filming the crucifixion scene just got up and walked away."

 

Francesco De Vito, who plays the disciple Peter, says "I talk with Judas [Luca Lionello] and with John [Hristo Jivkov] about this movie and about faith on the set, and there is something going on with many of us. We've become very focused — it has changed us."

 

"There's a pride that all of us have because we realize we are working on an important movie that could change a lot of lives," says Vera Mitchell, Caviezel's personal stylist on the film.

 

To portray the most famous man who ever lived requires a confident, controlled actor who can radiate mercy, love and forgiveness without opening his mouth. Film historian and "Hot Ticket" critic Leonard Maltin thinks Caviezel was tailor-made for the role of Jesus.

 

"There's always a question of whether it's an asset or distraction to have well-known stars in key roles," says Maltin. "Jim is a great choice. He's a very earnest and sincere actor and he's not a 'personality' with a lot of baggage from other parts that he's played."

 

On an average day, Caviezel goes through an arduous makeup session that lasts anywhere from four to seven hours and transforms his clean-shaven face and partly shaved head into a believable likeness of Jesus.

 

"He looks like the Shroud of Turin," Gibson said when he first saw him onscreen.

 

Caviezel recalls that when Gibson offered him the part, he said to him, "Do you realize I'm 33 years old, the same age Jesus was when he went through all of this?" He believes his performance is divinely inspired.

 

"Truthfully, it was never up to me," he says. "I'm interested in letting God work through me to play this role. I believe the Holy Spirit has been leading me in the right direction and to get away from my own physical flesh and allow the character of Jesus to be played out the way God wants it — that's all I can do."

 

He has found Aramaic an intimidating language to learn and speak on camera.

 

"But I asked God to help me and I was able to learn it in a quick amount of time, more than I normally am able to learn things," he says.

 

The devoutly Catholic Caviezel takes his role seriously, often praying and softly quoting Scripture while in character. But he has a lighter side (he does a dead-on imitation of Bing Crosby) as well as a stoic one.

 

"I endured freezing winds that almost blew my cross off the cliff while I was on it," he says. "I felt it sway back and forth and I knew it was going to blow over."

 

This went on for a couple of weeks. "To make matters worse," he continues, "we were there without a heater and, of course, I don't have many clothes on the cross, so my body was going numb. I was spit on and beaten and carried my cross for days over and over the same road — it was brutal."

 

When asked about the makeup and special effects for his crucifixion scenes he winces, "I have a 2 a.m. call time to get skin put on for the flagellation and crucifixion scenes. But I consider all of it worth it to play this role."

 

"I know Jim suffered," Gibson says. "He separated his left shoulder and was in a lot of pain and discomfort, but he was very patient during the whole thing."

 

Not only did Caviezel spend 15 days on the cross, he endured days in ropes and chains, being scourged and whipped.

 

"Mel likes to put violence in his movies," the actor says, "but all he cares about is making it look true to the text. Never before has a film of our Lord been shown like this one. By the time [audiences] get to the crucifixion scene, I believe there will be many who can't take it and will have to walk out — I guarantee it. And I believe there will be many who will stay and be drawn to the truth."

 

Keith Vanderlaan, the film's special-effects makeup producer, did extensive research on crucifixions, then improvised to show nails being hammered into Jesus' hands, ribs protruding from his chest and blood spurting from his side. Audience members — at least, those who stay — will feel as if they are watching an actual crucifixion.

 

PERSONAL VISION

 

Gibson is weary of the comparisons that have already been made in the press between his film and Scorsese's controversial "The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988), which was based on Nikos Kazantzakis' novel.

 

"I've taken a totally different approach altogether," he says. "Why would I want to do anything that's been done before? Besides, I never saw [scorsese's] movie, so I don't know how different it is." He says he was offered a role in "Last Temptation" but won't elaborate.

 

"I'm trying to access the story on a very personal level and trying to be very real about it," he adds. "I'm doing it in a realistic manner so that it doesn't suffer from the traps of a lot of biblical epics, which quite frankly, suffer from either being too corny, or laughable, or have bad hair or really bad music."

 

Maltin, however, contends that biblical epics have not lost their appeal. "People respond to the best of them because they were done with great conviction and sincerity," he says. "Who would have thought that a gladiator movie would have been relevant to the modern-day audience? Every year they trot out 'The Ten Commandments' [1956] on Easter Sunday, and it's almost 50 years old. It was corny then, in the best Cecil B. DeMille tradition, as it is now, but it is wonderful storytelling and an entertaining movie.

 

"There's always room for another movie about Jesus from a specific point of view," Maltin continues. "There are so many stories other than the last days of Christ that could be told. One thing is very clear: Gibson knows what his purpose is in doing a film of this magnitude.

 

His mission is, indeed, a passionate one, and as a dedicated director, it will be deeply felt. and that's the answer for anyone who asks the question 'Why?' about its box office [potential] or Mel using Aramaic. I look forward to seeing it."

 

Gibson is best known for action heroes and romantic leads, but it's his recent role as a minister in "Signs" that may subliminally prepare audiences to accept his spiritual side. He was raised in the Catholic faith and considers himself a traditionalist who loves the Latin Mass. He has a priest on the set who offers a Latin Mass and hears confessions from whomever wishes to take part.

 

"When I was growing up, the whole story of the Passion was very sanitized," he says. "It seemed to me very much like a fairy tale. Then from about the age of 15 to age 35, I kind of did my own thing, not that I didn't believe in God — I just didn't practice faith or give it much consideration. I went through that period in my life where you put a lot of other things first. I was a pretty wild boy, quite frankly. Even now, when I'm trying more than I was before, I still fail every day at some level, but that's being human."

 

Coming back to the story of Jesus nearly 20 years later was difficult, he says. "It seemed so distant, you know? I had to reconsider and say to myself, 'Now hang on a minute, this isn't a fairy tale — this actually happened, this is real.' And that started me thinking about what it must have been like, what Christ went through, and I started seeing it in film terms."

 

He accepts that making a movie about Jesus is risky "because it's very personal for everyone. Every nation and creed has been influenced by Christ in some way or another, and everyone has differing opinions about who he is, what he is and why, or whether they even believe in him or not. And that's the point of my film, really: to show all that turmoil around him politically because he is who he is."

[Guest guest]

 

 

 

 

For more pictures you can check out:

http://www.sassiweb.it/thepassion/

 

Archbishop Defends Mel Gibson's 'Passion'

Though Mel Gibson's latest film "The Passion" isn't scheduled

to appear in theaters for eight months, it is already arousing heated

debate.

 

This week Archbishop Charles Chaput devoted his column in the Denver

Catholic Register to defending Gibson's movie from those who charge

that a cinematic portrayal of Christ's passion and death could stir up

flames of anti-Semitism.

 

"I find it puzzling and disturbing that anyone would feel licensed to

attack a film of sincere faith before it has even been released,"

Archbishop Chaput writes. "When the overtly provocative 'The Last

Temptation of Christ' was released 15 years ago, movie critics piously

lectured Catholics to be open-minded and tolerant. Surely that advice

should apply equally for everyone."

 

The column follows on the heels of a string of recent attacks on

Gibson's film, culminating in an 18-page report of an ad hoc committee

of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious

Affairs criticizing the script of the movie.

 

The ad hoc scholar's group that produced the report was assembled by

Eugene Fisher of the bishops' conference and Rabbi Eugene Korn of the

Anti-Defamation League, and comprised a mix of nine Jewish and

Christian academics. One of the signers, Amy-Jill Levine of Vanderbilt

University, describes herself as "a Yankee Jewish feminist ... with a

commitment to exposing and expunging anti-Jewish, sexist and

heterosexist theologies."

 

The group's report, dated May 2, criticized everything from the size

of the cross used for the crucifixion scene, to the languages spoken,

to poor character development. The document's central complaint,

however, is that "a graphic movie presentation of the crucifixion

could reawaken the very anti-Semitic attitudes that we have devoted

our careers to combating."

 

The report takes issue with director Gibson's decision to focus on

Christ's passion rather than presenting a broader vision of "the

ministry of Jesus, of his preaching and teaching about God's reign,

his distinctive table companionship, his mediation of God's gracious

mercy."

 

The report furthermore disapproves of the film's treatment of the

Gospel accounts of Jesus' passion as historical facts. According to

the signers, Gibson disregards exegetical theories that the

Evangelists' accounts represent later efforts of the Christian

community to "shift responsibility from Pilate onto Jewish figures,"

and accuses the script of utilizing the four distinct passion

narratives "without regard for their apologetic and polemical

features."

 

Yet Gibson has recently received support from the Jewish sector as

well.

 

Writing in the New York Jewish weekly Forward, Orthodox Jewish author

David Klinghoffer defended Gibson's efforts and chided his

co-religionists for adhering to the historically dubious account of

Jesus' death handed down by Jewish officialdom.

 

Such an account absolves the Jews from complicity in Jesus' death and

places the blame on the shoulders of the Romans. "Our loyalty should

be to Judaism and to truth," Klinghoffer writes, "not to an officially

sanctioned, sanitized version of Judaism or the truth – which may be

neither Jewish nor true."

 

The ad hoc group report follows on a series of stories that appeared

in different news media across North America, criticizing the movie

along similar lines.

 

Boston Globe columnist James Carroll, for example, denounced Gibson's

film for its literal reading of the Biblical accounts of Christ's

passion. According to Carroll, "Even a faithful repetition of the

Gospel stories of the death of Jesus can do damage exactly because

those sacred texts themselves carry the virus of Jew hatred."

 

Such opinions are not shared by other scholars in the field. Jesuit

Father William J. Fulco, National Endowment for the Humanities

professor of ancient Mediterranean studies at Loyola Marymount

University in Los Angeles, not only read the script, but translated it

into Aramaic and Latin.

 

In a recent Los Angeles Times article, Father Fulco points out that

"the Jewish community portrayed in the film consists of people both

sympathetic to Jesus and hostile to him, just as the Roman community

is portrayed. Indeed, if anyone does not come off well in this film,

it is the Roman community and governing establishment. ... I would be

aghast at any suggestion that Mel is anti-Semitic."

 

This is not the first time the bishops' committee for Ecumenical and

Interreligious Affairs has gone out on a limb in its interpretation of

scriptural texts.

 

Last August, the committee published "Reflections on Covenant and

Mission," which stated that Jews' witness to the Kingdom "must not be

curtailed by seeking the conversion of the Jewish people to

Christianity." The document immediately came under heavy fire from

Catholics and Protestants alike, as betraying the message of the New

Testament.

 

Cardinal William Keeler, the U.S. bishops' moderator for

Catholic-Jewish relations, was quick to point out that the committee's

findings did not represent a formal position of the bishops'

conference.

 

Given that no one has yet viewed the film, Archbishop Chaput

recommends prudence. "We'll get a chance to love or criticize 'The

Passion' soon enough," he writes. "In the meantime, between a decent

man and his critics, I'll choose the decent man every time – until the

evidence shows otherwise."

[Guest guest]

http://www.churchofthemasses.blogspot.com/

[Guest guest]

How do you say “Wow” in Latin?

 

How do you say “This looks great” in Aramaic?

 

The link below gives the first trailer for “The Passion” and if the film is as good as the trailer, then this may very well be the greatest film ever directed. Unless you have high speed internet it probably won’t do much good to go to the link. But if you do, you’re in for something remarkable.

 

http://www.themoviebox.net/trailers/thepassion/thepassion_tr_lo.htm

[Guest guest]

Movie star Mel Gibson -- under fire from Jewish groups and religious scholars for his still-unreleased film that graphically portrays the crucifixion of Jesus -- yesterday screened a two-hour rough cut of "The Passion" for a select group of Washington pundits, clergymen, cybergossip Matt Drudge and Hollywood lobbyist Jack Valenti, and at least one White House staffer.

 

"I've heard people talking about how I can't get a distributor," the casually dressed Gibson -- sporting sweat pants, sandals and white socks -- told the four dozen audience members. "Believe me, I can get a distributor."

 

A vocal conservative and devout Catholic, the 47-year-old Academy Award winner has weathered accusations of anti-Semitism for the movie, which is being produced by his company, Icon Productions. The influential Anti-Defamation League, which monitors incidents of anti-Semitism, has been especially critical, pointing out on its Web site the long historical relationship between passion plays and attacks on Jews: "ADL has serious concerns regarding Mr. Gibson's 'The Passion' and asks: Will the final version of 'The Passion' continue to portray Jews as blood-thirsty, sadistic and money-hungry enemies of Jesus? Will it correct the unambiguous depiction of Jews as the ones responsible for the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus?"

 

Yesterday's secret screening at the Motion Picture Association of America included columnists Peggy Noonan, Cal Thomas and Kate O'Beirne; conservative essayist Michael Novak; President Bush's abortive nominee for labor secretary, Linda Chavez; staff director Mark Rodgers of the Senate Republican conference chaired by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.); former Republican House member Mark Siljander of Michigan; and White House staffer David Kuo, deputy director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

 

"I find this sad," said ADL National Director Abraham Foxman, who hasn't been permitted to see the movie. "Here's a man who appeals to the mass audience, but he feels he has to surround himself with a cordon sanitaire of people who back him theologically and maybe ideologically and will stand up and be supportive when the time comes. My request still stands: I would like to see the movie, and if it turns out I was wrong, I'll be the first to say so."

 

Yesterday when the lights came up, many in the audience -- who were required to sign a confidentiality agreement before being admitted to the screening room -- were in tears. Some were sobbing, we hear.

 

"Heartbreaking," Michael Novak told Gibson. "The Exorcist" author William Peter Blatty called the movie "a tremendous depiction of evil." MPAA President Valenti was perhaps the most enthusiastic. "I don't see what the controversy is all about," he told fellow audience members. "This is a compelling piece of art. I just called Kirk Douglas and told him that this is the movie to beat."

 

Another invitee, right-wing radio host Laura Ingraham, flew here from San Francisco to see the film but arrived too late and missed it. "I'm so bummed," Ingraham told us. "I want to see any movie that drives the anti-Christian entertainment elite crazy."

[Guest guest]

BUCHANAN: ... before we get into that, I want to ask you, you apparently have gone to see this movie that Mel Gibson did called "The Passion" that is causing great controversy among some in the Jewish community and in the Catholic community. Is it anti-Semitic? It's about, frankly, the passion and death of Jesus Christ...

 

DRUDGE: It's...

 

BUCHANAN: ... and you have seen -- you got an early look at it. What is it like?

 

DRUDGE: Well Mel Gibson is here, he's in town. He's two blocks away. He sends his regards. He'll be making the rounds on this one. This may be the last movie Mel Gibson makes, Pat Buchanan. This is the ultimate film. It's magical. Best picture I have seen in quite some time, and even people like Jack Valenti were in the audience in tears at this screening. There was about 30 of us. It depicts a clash between Jesus and those who crucified him, and speaking as a Jew, I thought it was a magical film that showed the perils of life on earth.

 

BUCHANAN: Right. "The New Republic" -- today I read a long report in "The New Republic" said it is an anti-Semitic film, just about flat-out. What's your take?

 

DRUDGE: They haven't seen the darn film and those of us, every single person in there, and I'm not talking about tears, I'm talking total tears. It is something Mel Gibson stood back at the end and took questions for about an hour, and he is -- he told me he's tired of Hollywood. That this is it. He's going to do it. He's going to do it his way, and this film, I tell you, is magic. It's a miracle. It's a miracle...

 

BILL PRESS: All right...

 

DRUDGE: ... and Pat Buchanan, you will be talking about this in -- when it comes out because it's something I haven't seen in quite some time.

[Guest guest]

Then check out this link:

 

http://www.harvest.org/special/index.php/1/2/6.html

 

It is an extended trailer shown at a Christian festival. The look of the film is so beautiful.

[Guest guest]

For those with 56K modems, the trailer on the Harvest site labeled low bandwidth comes through fairly well. Its pixilated, and the richness of the detail isn't nearly as good, but the trailer is still very effective in small form. You don't need a high speed modem to view the Low Bandwidth trailer.

[Guest guest]

The Anti-Defamation League expressed concern on Monday that Mel Gibson's "The Passion" will fuel anti-Semitism by reinforcing a belief that Jews were guilty for Jesus' death.

 

An ADL representative, Rabbi Eugene Korn, the head of the group's office on interfaith affairs, attended a private screening of the film — about the final hours in the life of Jesus Christ — at Houston's Museum of Fine Arts on Friday. The ADL previously had not been allowed to see it.

 

"This is not a disagreement between the Jews and Mr Gibson," Korn said. "Many theologically informed Catholics and Protestants have expressed the same concerns regarding anti-Semitism and that this film may undermine Christian-Jewish dialogue and could turn back the clock on decades of positive progress in interfaith relations."

 

Said Abraham Foxman, the ADL's national director: "We are deeply concerned that the film, if released in its present form, will fuel the hatred, bigotry and anti-Semitism that many responsible churches have worked hard to repudiate."

 

A spokesman for Gibson, Alan Nierob, said his client's intent was to combat hatred, not fuel it.

 

"Neither he nor his film are inspired by anti-Semitism, and he will continue to do whatever he can to combat hatred and bigotry," Nierob said. "Mel Gibson, for his whole life and career, has been vehemently opposed to anti-Semitism and hatred of others."

 

Others who have seen the film have praised its beauty and accuracy.

 

Ted Haggard, president of the National Evangelical Association, has called it "the most authentic portrayal I've ever seen."

 

Gibson, the star of the blockbuster "Lethal Weapon" movies and Oscar-winning director of "Braveheart," has spent nearly $30 million of his own money to produce, co-write and direct the film, starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus and Monica Bellucci as Mary Magdalene. Filmed entirely in Aramaic and Latin, it has yet to secure a distributor.

[Guest guest]

By Linda Chavez

 

Mel Gibson's new film "The Passion," which depicts the last hours and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, has generated enormous controversy even though it is nearly a year away from release. The Anti-Defamation League now features on its Web site the banner headline "Mel Gibson's 'The Passion': Why ADL Is Concerned," which links to several articles questioning whether the film is anti-Semitic or might provoke physical attacks on Jews, like those that sometimes occurred following Passion Plays during the Middle Ages. But none of the criticism comes from anyone who has actually seen the film.

 

Two weeks ago, I was invited to a private screening of a rough cut of the film at the Motion Picture Association in Washington, D.C. While I certainly can't lay claim to being a Biblical scholar or an authority on anti-Semitism, I do think much of the controversy is overblown, fed by fear -- some of it legitimate in the context of a recent increase in anti-Semitism in Europe and elsewhere.

 

The movie is both beautiful and harrowing. The dialogue is entirely in Aramaic and Latin with few subtitles, but the story is familiar enough not to need much interpretation for anyone who has read the Gospels. The film opens with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane as he prays to be delivered from the suffering he is about to endure, and then acknowledges that it is God's will that Jesus die.

 

The words "Not My will but Thine be done" -- which appear in various versions in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke -- set up all that follows in the film. Christ's death on the cross may have been ordered by Pontius Pilate at the urging of the Pharisee Caiaphas -- following the judgment of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish religious court that judged Jesus guilty of blasphemy -- but, according to Scripture, it is done to fulfill God's will.

 

Gibson's film is an intensely Catholic account of the Passion. Indeed most of the scenes depicting Christ's journey along the Via Dolorosa on the way to Golgotha seem inspired by the Catholic devotional ritual the "Stations of the Cross," which dates back to the 14th century. A scene in the film depicting Jesus' encounter with Veronica, who wipes his face and is left with Christ's image on her veil, is part of Catholic tradition, for example, and may be totally unfamiliar to non-Catholic viewers.

 

In Catholic teaching, all of us who have sinned are responsible for Christ's suffering and death. In the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "All sinners were the authors of Christ's Passion." It seemed to me that the entire point of the film was to drive home this message. Every bloody detail of the scourging of Christ by Roman soldiers, the tortuous path to Golgotha and the crucifixion itself is meant to make viewers uncomfortable -- not in order to blame someone else, but to blame ourselves.

 

No doubt this will distress many people -- believers and non-believers. But it is certainly not anti-Semitism. Nor does the film contain anti-Semitic stereotypes.

 

While Caiaphas and most of the Pharisees are cast as antagonists in the film, other Pharisees are seen leaving the Sanhedrin trial in disgust when some witnesses make obviously false charges against Jesus. All of the protagonists of the film are Jews as well, and Gibson's movie shows a very Semitic-looking Jesus, actor James Caviezel, not a fair-haired, blue-eyed version like those depicted in most previous movies. The only characters who come off as demented sadists are the Roman soldiers who torture Christ after Pilate orders him beaten -- and these truly seem to be possessed of the Devil, who appears as a specter-like character throughout the film.

 

"The Passion" is an incredibly powerful interpretation of Christ's last hours on earth. It is clearly a project of love on Gibson's part, one that should inspire -- not anti-Semitism -- but much soul-searching on the part of Christians as to their own culpability in Christ's suffering.

[Guest guest]

By Cal Thomas

 

WASHINGTON - Last month in Washington, 50 people attended a private screening of actor Mel Gibson's new film, The Passion, about the last 12 hours in the earthly life of Jesus Christ.

 

We were required to sign a confidentiality agreement, promising not to write or speak about the film without permission. That restriction has now been lifted.

 

As one who has seen virtually every modern biblical epic - from Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments to the two-part Jesus miniseries on CBS three years ago - I can say The Passion is the most beautiful, profound, accurate, disturbing, realistic and bloody depiction of this well-known story that has ever been filmed.

 

Jim Caviezel, who plays Jesus with tender understatement, may be the best "Jesus" ever (not counting the original). To those in the Jewish community who worry that the film, which is scheduled for release next Easter season, might contain anti-Semitic elements, or encourage people to persecute Jews, fear not. The film does not indict Jews for the death of Jesus. It is faithful to the New Testament account. Also, Mr. Gibson, a devout Roman Catholic, does not elevate Mary, Jesus' mother, beyond what Scripture says of her, which will broaden the film's appeal to Protestants.

 

A Christian friend whispered to me during the scene in which the mob demands that the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, order Jesus (who, after all, was Jewish) to be crucified: "What disturbs me is that I might have been part of that crowd."

 

Exactly. Guilt is universal, not particular to the Jews.

 

There is an important theological point to be made, especially for any Christian who might wish to blame the Jews as a people for Christ's death. According to the biblical record, Jesus said that he came into the world for the purpose of sacrificing himself on behalf of all humanity and that no one had the power to take his life from him. He said he had the power to lay his life down, and the power to take it up again. That doesn't sound like a murder victim to me.

 

Questions had been raised as to whether Mr. Gibson can find a distributor. Asked about it at the screening, Mr. Gibson said confidently, "Oh, I'll find a distributor."

 

This is not a date film. The rough cut I saw contains graphic scenes, including the seemingly endless scourging of Jesus. The makeup artist deserves an Oscar for the way he created the "wounds." The crucifixion scene is long, bloody and painful to watch. Several audience members wept. The film will probably earn an R rating for violence.

 

The Passion should not be labeled a "religious" film, or something to be shown only in church basements. Compared to examples of recent Christian films (Left Behind is one of many very bad ones in this genre), The Passion is a work of high art and great storytelling.

 

The dialogue is in Aramaic and Latin. English subtitles are provided, and they are helpful in following the storyline. A decision about using them in the final version has not been made. Few liberties are taken with the Gospel account, and the extra dialogue added helps round out the characters without damaging historical or biblical accuracy.

 

Satan is cleverly played as an asexual being who at first seems to be an observer in the Garden of Gethsemane (and in other scenes), but the appearance of a snake slithering between the character's feet and attempting to wrap itself around the arm of the prostrate and praying Jesus identifies him and his evil intent.

 

The film is an intense two hours. It uses unknown actors, which helps focus attention on the message. By the end of the film (a unique portrayal of the resurrection), the viewer is exhausted.

 

Thirteen years ago, actor Mickey Rooney wrote an editorial for Variety in which he said, "The on-screen depiction of religion is less than flattering, and, as a Christian, I pray the era of denigrating religion on screen comes to a screeching halt. And soon."

 

Mr. Rooney's prayer has been answered with The Passion. It is a soul-stirring film that deserves wide distribution and viewing. Its message is not just for Christians, but for everyone. I doubt a better film about Jesus could be made.

[Guest guest]

The New York Times doesn't want you to see it. The L.A. Times doesn't want you to see it. Anti-Christian bigots don't want you to see it. A film, which by all accounts is straight from the Bible, is too controversial. But of course where was the New York Times and L.A. Times when an "artist" put a crucifix in urine and titled it "Piss Christ". Where where they when another "artist" created a virgin Mary painting with stool smeared on it and genitalia around. Sure when Christians are attacked then any anti-Christian film is art and supported by the elite. But a film that is a meditation on Christ is bigotted. This film might not make it. Lets just pray Mel Gibson holds to his guns and releases his artistic vision uninterrupted.

 

 

NEW YORK -- Jewish leaders said Thursday a major film distributor has decided not to release Mel Gibson's "The Passion" and urged others to follow suit, saying its theme that Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus could trigger anti-Semitic crimes.

 

"This film is dangerous for Jews all over the world ... and takes us back to the Dark Ages," said Dov Hikind, a Democratic state assemblyman and Jewish community activist. "I am concerned that it will lead to violence against Jews."

 

At a sidewalk news conference outside News Corp.'s midtown Manhattan headquarters has indicated to us that it has a number of alternative distribution options that it is pursuing. In light of that, Fox and Icon have agreed not to partner on this project," said the e-mail, signed by Juda Engelmayer, a spokesman for News Corp.

 

While Fox held first rights to the film, Hikind said Miramax, Paramount and other distributors should also reject the picture because of the "potential for violence" generated by its portrayal of Jews.

 

A spokesman for Icon did not immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday.

 

"The Passion," which actor and Academy Award-winning director Gibson spent nearly $30 million to produce, has spawned controversy well ahead of its scheduled spring release.

 

The Catholic church formally rejected Jewish culpability in Christ's death nearly 40 years ago. Many conservative Christians say the film powerfully depicts the last 12 hours of Jesus' life.

 

Gibson has defended it as faithful to the Gospels and said it is intended "to inspire, not offend." The film's dialogue is entirely in Latin and Aramaic.

 

Hikind, joined by City Council members Simcha Felder and David Weprin, noted that Gibson and his father, a "Holocaust denier," belong to an ultraconservative Catholic movement that rejects Vatican authority, including its 1965 edict absolving Jews in Jesus' death.

 

Although Gibson has shown the "The Passion" to selected audiences, Hikind said he had seen only a seven-minute clip, which he called "graphic beyond description ... enough to scare the daylights out of me."

 

He said Gibson had a right to make the film and he was not trying to censor it, but he was asking distributors and others to recognize Jewish "sensitivity" on the subject.

 

"It's not a question of censorship," Hikind said. "I am expressing my feelings, my right of freedom of speech, and others are doing what they think is right. ... Mel Gibson is doing precisely the same. Others will have to make their own choices as to what they do or not do."

 

Weprin said his Queens neighborhood had seen a recent spate of swastika-scrawling vandalism.

 

"Anti-Semitism is on the rise," he said. "This is just going to lead to additional anti-Semitism."

 

About 50 supporters backed Hikind, some with signs reading "`The Passion' is a Lethal Weapon Against Jews," a reference to the series of "Lethal Weapon" action movies starring Gibson.

 

Malka Moskowits, who identified herself as a Holocaust survivor from Brooklyn, was close to tears as she compared the film with anti-Jewish propaganda that led the Nazis to kill millions of Jews.

 

"This is how it began in Germany," she said, "with the Hitler youth venom."

[Guest guest]

Irondale, Sept. 14 (EWTNews) Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, the top Vatican official in charge of the Congregation for the Clergy has given his endorsement to Mel Gibson's upcoming film, "The Passion", putting to rest speculation that the film in any way distorts Catholic teaching. Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos, after viewing the film, granted an interview to Italian reporter Antonio Gaspari. In an excerpt from the interview obtained by EWTNews, the Cardinal said "I would like all our Catholic priests throughout the world to see this film. I hope all Christians will be able to see it, and all people everywhere." He described the film as "...a triumph of art and faith. It will be a tool for explaining the person and message of Christ. I am confident that it will change for the better everyone who sees it, both Christians and non-Christians alike." Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos disputes any notion that the film is in any way anti-Semitic.

[Kulapavana]

That sounds like a very ambitious religious film. I hope Mel sticks to his planned release. It is rare to see somebody in the "mainstream" public life dare to stand up to unspoken censorship rules imposed by people who control the media.

[Guest guest]

The Cardinal & the Passion

Gibson’s controversial movie gets a Roman endorsement.

 

By Antonio Gaspari

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: In recent months, as unfinished previews of Mel Gibson's Passion have been seen by commentators, theologians, and others in the U.S., much controversy has surrounded the not-yet-released movie. In the following interview, originally published in Italian and reprinted in translation with permission, journalist Antonio Gaspari talks to Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos about the movie. The Vatican cardinal addresses (and debunks) the accusations of anti-Semitism and other criticisms of The Passion.

 

Antonio Gaspari: I understand that you have already seen Mel Gibson's new film, The Passion. What were your impressions?

 

Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos: As I watched this yet-unfinished version of the film, I experienced moments of profound spiritual intimacy with Jesus Christ. It is a film that leads the viewer into prayer and reflection, into heartfelt contemplation. In fact, as I told Mr. Gibson after the screening, I would gladly trade some of the homilies that I have given about the passion of Christ for even a few of the scenes of his film.

 

Gaspari: So many films have already been made about the life of Jesus Christ. What is the value of this one?

 

Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos: With this film, Mr. Gibson has achieved something truly extraordinary. He has used the marvelous technology available through our modern means of communication to make the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ come alive for the people of our times. What is more, the film as a work of art — the performances, the dazzling cinematography, the sounds, lighting, and pacing — is just as powerful as the message it contains.

 

Gaspari: Even six months before the expected release date The Passion has stirred up a great deal of controversy. Do you have any reservations in recommending the film?

 

Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos: I would like all our Catholic priests throughout the world to see this film. I hope all Christians will be able to see it, and all people everywhere.

 

Gaspari: The film is reported to contain graphic violence. Won't this provoke anger and hatred among viewers?

 

Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos: In my opinion, one of the great achievements of this film is to have shown so effectively both the horror of sin and selfishness, and the redeeming power of love. Seeing this film provokes love and compassion. It makes the viewer want to love more, to forgive, to be good and strong no matter what, just as Christ did even in the face of such terrible suffering. The viewer is drawn into a powerful experience of God's strong yet gentle love, of his overflowing mercy. It is my belief that if we could understand what Jesus Christ did for us and we could follow his example of love and forgiveness, there would not be hatred or violence in the world. This film will help to make that possible.

 

Gaspari: As prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy your responsibilities include overseeing the catechesis of Catholics worldwide. Does this film contribute positively to your work?

 

Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos: This film is a triumph of art and faith. It will be a tool for explaining the person and message of Christ. I am confident that it will change for the better everyone who sees it, both Christians and non-Christians alike. It will bring people closer to God, and closer to one another.

 

Gaspari: Is Gibson's version of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ faithful to the Gospel accounts?

 

Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos: Mr. Gibson has had to make many artistic choices in the way he portrays the characters and the events involved in the Passion, and he has complemented the Gospel narrative with the insights and reflections made by saints and mystics through the centuries. Mel Gibson not only closely follows the narrative of the Gospels, giving the viewer a new appreciation for those Biblical passages, but his artistic choices also make the film faithful to the meaning of the Gospels, as understood by the Church.

 

Gaspari: Some have expressed fear that Gibson's vivid depiction of the death of Christ could spark anti-Semitism. Is there any truth to this?

 

Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos: Anti-Semitism, like all forms of racism, distorts the truth in order to put a whole race of people in a bad light. This film does nothing of the sort. It draws out from the historical objectivity of the Gospel narratives sentiments of forgiveness, mercy, and reconciliation. It captures the subtleties and the horror of sin, as well as the gentle power of love and forgiveness, without making or insinuating blanket condemnations against one group. This film expressed the exact opposite, that learning from the example of Christ, there should never be any more violence against any other human being.

 

— Antonio Gaspari is a freelance Italian journalist, a frequent contributor to major Italian newspapers.

[Guest guest]

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