There are two ways to assess this film. One is objectively as cinema; the other is subjectively as a religious and cultural event.
As a film, "The Passion of the Christ" is only mediocre. It has a thin plot, no subplots, and virtually all the characterizations are uni-dimensional. For example, the two Marys are always grief stricken; the Roman centurians are all laughing, drunken, sadistic buffoons; the rabbis are all determined to get the blasphemer; and Jesus is perpetually suffering, except in the flashbacks in which we see a glimpse of someone who is other than a victim. Ironically, the only two characters that show some range are Pontius Pilate and his deputy, Abenader.
The two bright points of the film as cinema are Caleb Deschanel's cinematography (if you discount the excessive use of slow motion) and Keith VanderLaan and his crew's marvelous make-up effects.
Despite this, as an event it is well worth seeing. No doubt, many have come away from "The Passion of the Christ" truly moved and shaken. Others may have come away shocked at the graphic brutality.
Inasmuch as I grew up with this story, I long ago came to grips emotionally with the series of events depicted in the film. Today I choose to view the legacy of Jesus as love, goodness, and sharing, and wish all of us in this world would practice what this man has taught us. Unfortunately, many who most loudly profess Christianity spend more time proselytizing and politicizing their beliefs than actually living the life exemplified by his teachings and acts.
So much for the Christian way....
As a film, "The Passion of the Christ" is only mediocre. It has a thin plot, no subplots, and virtually all the characterizations are uni-dimensional. For example, the two Marys are always grief stricken; the Roman centurians are all laughing, drunken, sadistic buffoons; the rabbis are all determined to get the blasphemer; and Jesus is perpetually suffering, except in the flashbacks in which we see a glimpse of someone who is other than a victim. Ironically, the only two characters that show some range are Pontius Pilate and his deputy, Abenader.
The two bright points of the film as cinema are Caleb Deschanel's cinematography (if you discount the excessive use of slow motion) and Keith VanderLaan and his crew's marvelous make-up effects.
Despite this, as an event it is well worth seeing. No doubt, many have come away from "The Passion of the Christ" truly moved and shaken. Others may have come away shocked at the graphic brutality.
Inasmuch as I grew up with this story, I long ago came to grips emotionally with the series of events depicted in the film. Today I choose to view the legacy of Jesus as love, goodness, and sharing, and wish all of us in this world would practice what this man has taught us. Unfortunately, many who most loudly profess Christianity spend more time proselytizing and politicizing their beliefs than actually living the life exemplified by his teachings and acts.
So much for the Christian way....