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Feb
29
Gibson’s The Passion of Christ
Filed Under Books and Culture
It is hard to over-estimate the challenge Mel Gibson set for himself in making The Passion. Its subject matter is one sure to offend a variety of people regardless of how it turned out. For Christians it is at the heart of their faith. For many non-believers it is a bizarre religious story. For Jews it brings up uncomfortable and fearful connections with persecution and violence. What are the odds that he could make a film that wouldn’t arouse emotion and controversy?
As we all know by now, he obviously failed to escape the trap he set for himself. The movie has aroused controversy, anger, and vitriol as well as praise and appreciation. In fact its dominance as a cultural topic was a big reason I went to see the film. I should admit as a caveat that I am not really a movie person. Oh sure I enjoy them like everybody else but they are not my medium of choice. I much prefer books. I am not a visual person, although I know what I like, and do better with the written word. But given my faith and my interest in popular culture, I felt I needed to see this film and interact with it. What follows are my thoughts and ideas having seen the film and read quite a bit about it.
Coming away from the film I was at a loss to describe my feelings. I had a very heavy heart despite the happy ending and the bright sunshine that blinded me as I exited the theatre. I felt the weight of the subject. I believe that Christ died to pay for my sins and the sins of all mankind. I believe Christ death and resurrection compose the central acts of human history. Because of this, I couldn’t really just leave the film laughing and joking around. In many ways, I wanted to put some distance between me and the events portrayed on screen but in more important ways I wanted to digest them. I felt pushed and pulled going into the film and I felt that way coming out.
After another day to think about the film, I have been unable to get past my ambivalence or conflicted feelings about the film. In some aspects the film was a powerful portrayal of the last days of Christ and of his message. But in other ways it was a weird and confusing mass of symbols and events. In my humble opinion it is not a great film as a whole but given the subject and the realism it can’t help but impact people of faith. Here are some thoughts (”spoilers” included):
- A great many people criticized the violence. I didn’t find the violence repulsive or pornographic, although it was gory. Rather, I found that the gore in many ways dehumanized Christ and made it hard for me to connect with him in the film. He seemed drenched in watery blood for so much of the film that it created a barrier between the character and the audience. The violence might have been accurate, I don’t know, but at some point it became counter-effective for me personally. Rather than concentrate of his words, as subtitles no less, you were always struck by his bodily condition.
- Most likely intentionally, Mary was the human focus. She was the person you related to and connected with emotionally. She is a sort of visual narrator, moving through the film and seeing both the horror and the necessity of the events. She is the representation of holiness and faithfulness. As seem appropriate within Catholic theology, she is the person through which you approach Christ.
- I thought the use of the androgynous devil character was taken to far. Did we really need the maggot crawling in its nose to let us know it was evil? The scene where she is holding the baby with the face of an old man was also jarring and distracting. Again, I failed to see the point (although I read somewhere it had to do with contrasting the new Adam with the old Adam or some other analogy). I could see the point of Satan haunting the events but the way is was presented was bizarre and confusing to me.
- Likewise the whole Judas episode. I didn’t understand why Gibson needed to focus so long on Judas going mad and killing himself. This also brought in additional violence and gore, not to mention oddness. As he scratched his face and chewed his lips raw, I kept wondering why he was kept in focus for so long. Then the weird kids with devil faces chased him out of the city and he hung himself above the maggot infested lamb. I suppose this was more deep symbolism but it turned me off as too macabre.
- I thought the way Pontius Pilate was handled was fair and effective. I don’t think he was shown in a favorable light so much as a conflicted one. He didn’t want any trouble but he didn’t want to take responsibility either. Evil is not always the result of purely vile intentions, but can come from a simple lack of will.
- The most controversial subject is the flogging scene. I wasn’t sickened or revolted by the blood so much as the sadism of the Roman guards. But I felt the scene lacked clarity. Why are the guards so sadistic? Is it just in their nature? Have they lost touch with humanity after so much violence and bloodshed? With Christ, the more he is past a certain point the less you can understand him as a human being. At some point he becomes a piece of meat; and that is disturbing. But the point was explained at the very beginning of the film, His suffering is a result of our transgressions, He was beaten for our iniquities. Christ’s torture is part of his sacrifice. Not coming from a symbolic or liturgical background, and not being a visual person, I felt the weight of that pain but not the spiritual connection I imagine Gibson does.
- The most spiritually moving parts of the film are the flashbacks that connect Christ’s ministry and mission with his final acts. Christ is the ultimate example of sacrificial love, he is the propitiation for our sins. Again, if you come from a more literal and liturgical tradition, there is a particularly potent symbolism here. Christ flesh and blood become the Eucharist. His sacrifice washes away your sins. If their is any part of the film that could plant a seed of faith in the non-believer it would be these powerful visual adaptation of the core Gospel message. Any believer, no matter the tradition, is bound to be impacted by them as well.
- Jesus’s interaction with the criminals on the cross was also effective. You see the arrogant and defiant criminal mocking Christ and you see the humble and repentant criminal reach out to Christ in his final moments. One realizes that he is guilty while the other continues to lash out at others even in his final hours. It shows Christ willing to reward even that little bit of faith the criminal had.
- In some ways the ending was effective. Its rather subtle and quiet, and certainly brief, allusion to Christ’s resurrection has a certain power. All that darkness and violence couldn’t defeat the Son of God. But it some ways it was anti-climatic as well. The whole film was heavy, dark, and blood soaked it would have been nice to bask in the glow of the risen Christ longer. Despite the empty tomb it was hard to shake off the weight of the last couple of hours.
Looking back on the film, I can’t say that I was deeply affected by the film spiritually or intellectually. Certainly, I was reminded of the pain and suffering Christ endured to pay for my sins. Certainly, I was humbled and quieted by this “in your face reminder.” But it seemed to me simply Mel Gibson’s personal view brought to the screen. Perhaps, I am asking too much, but it didn’t seem to me to rise above a physical portrayal and say something deeper. It didn’t bring a deeper meaning to the last hours of Christ’s life, or at least it didn’t effect me that way. Was I glad I went? Yes, I am glad I had the experience. But I am not interested in seeing it again.
Tomorrow I hope to explore two additional issues: the Catholic/Protestant perspective and the issue of anti-Semitism.
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9 Responses to “Gibson’s The Passion of Christ”
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A solid review. I think many will agree that the book is better.
I had some similar feelings to you, but it has been difficult to post about it, as well as talk to others, since I do not want to detract from someone seeing this film.
As much as it is a personal interpretation from Gibson, each of us will have a personal reaction to the film. I was hoping for more “hallelujah” moments. Gibson was solely focused on the sacrifice.
The movie to me was just as it should have been. Someone else mentioned a “hallelujah” moment & that there were not enough of them. My moments came when I realized that his lashes, bruises, swollen eye–every single brutal blow should have belonged to that of humanity and he took it instead. THAT is the moment. God is moving through this film and touching lives and I will not take it for granted. We’ve been used to a risen, seated-at-the-right-hand-of-the-throne, risen and holy Savior–almost never considering what He went through for US. Now, we know–and speaking for myself, I am forever changed. Hallelujah!
The film was inspiring, however, I think that it is very important that we remember that we have had this truth with us in the Word of God for centuries. I am concerened that we act like this is something we have never heard of. Praise the Lord for the films life changing aspects, but please don’t forget that the Truth was here before and will remain long after the film has been forgotten.
Just so I’m not misunderstood. I think that this film should be used as tool to reach those who don’t know the truth of God’s grace. My concerns are mainly with those of us who have heard this all of our lives and yet it takes something as graphic as this film to make us feel anything. But praise be to God for someone standing up for the truth and making a film that could point people to Christ.
Thank you for sharing with the world your ideas. The movie changed many people’s way of look at life as well as realizing the evil in the world. The reason Mel Gibson reflected so much on the evil of Judas was to show people how evil can change a person from being on Jesus’s side to once again becoming evil and hating the evil so much.The reason Mel Gibson also reflected on the child’s faces was to prove you can’t get away from evil. The devil will always be there that’s another reason he was present at the crucixification. The movie is so powerful you can’t get every aspect once. You have to see it atleast 3 times to understand all the symbols he used and realize how powerful God moves. It was said you have to read a poem atleast 3 times to understand the full meaning of the poem. I believe it is the same for this film. When Mary goes back to help Jesus when he was a child from falling brought power beyond what a closed minded person could ever understand. She wanted to help him but also let him know she will always be there to try to protect him. She couldn’t protect him because she knew that was God’s plan.In the end I was in complete and utter awe overall with the whole movie. It makes people think about their lives and what they’re doing. In the end you either believe or you don’t that’s the bottom line.Thank you for your time. Sarah Walter
I thought that the movie was a good reality check to some of us who have lost faith in what God has given us…Jesus who died for us. Some people underestimate what a wonderful gift that is… It made a lot of sense to me and i think a lot of people. Just t think it was even worse. The bible says that when he was on the cross you couldn’t even tell he was a human being on there. But all in all i do think that god worked through Mel to make the movie through him how God wanted it for people to see and understand. He has really done a lot of wonders for God to bring people to him. It was overall just a good witnessing tool to people along with a reality check… oh, and if anyone knows exactly what the baby represented in the movie when satan was holdong it watching Jesus’s punishment please e-mail me. Thanks. Brian
My opinion on the focus on Judas: an incredible representation of our entire lives as human beings and the effect that sin has on us. It puts us in bondage, makes us hide in shame, and keeps us from the connection with Christ that he longs for us to have. When we deny Christ, when we sin, we have hurt ourselves. Sin weighs us down with shame. We can no longer look at Jesus face to face and we become unhappy and discontent within our own lives, not unlike Judas. Notice in the film, Jesus wasn’t angry with him, but appeared to have sorrow and pity ‘for’ him. Beautiful representation of how God seeks our repentence, not for his sake, but for ours.
I shall do my best to interpret some of the film’s symbold for you:
1.)The Devil with the Baby during the scourging is a polor opposite to Mary and her baby Jesus. It represents the Devil and the Antichrist, which will (according to scripture eventually be released to the earth, despite the crucifixion to tempt mankind one last time. The Devil will not simply give up, and wants Jesus to know it.
2.)Scripturally, Judas felt instant remorse and hung himself…but we have time to focus on the fact that the prophecy was unfullfillable without him. He expressed his remorse through suicide, being chased by his own demons.
3.)The soldiers were sadistic because prophecy (and Psalm 22) ecxplains the sadism of these men. They stripped him naked, casted lots for his clothing, blindfolded him and taunted him to prophesy who had beaten him, gave him vinegar to drink, crowned him with thorns as a disgraced king, dared him to come down off the cross if he were truly the Messiah and mocked him with the note “INRI” written on the cross. If you follow scripture, these men WERE truly sadistic and he received as many lashes as in the film, as is recorded, so there is no reason to think that this kind of sadism is manufactured or over-dramatized.
4.) And ultimately, the movie was about “the Passion”, not the resurrection. The brief glimpse of Christ victorious was the culmination of prophecy, forgiveness, God’s love for us; this ensured that the the sacrifice (without redemption is not possible) fresh in our minds, as THAT was where we were washed clean by the suffering of Jesus. To spend more time on the Resurrection in my opinion would have diminished some of the impact of the ultimate sacrifice made for us by Christ. The feeling of intense gratitude that I felt at the end of the film mixed with the victory over death and sin would not have been quite as deeply implanted into my psyche if they had simply wrapped the film up into a neat littel happy package with the Desciples and the Mary’s sitting down for a family reunion.