FR MOVIE REVUE: THE PASSION OF CHRIST (post your comments here)

2/24/04 | FR MOVIE REVIEWERS

[Liz]

All the world is waiting for the powerful message in Mel Gibson's ground-breaking film, The Passion of Christ.

Post here your own personal reactions after seeing the film set to open tomorrow, Ash Wednesday. Passion has previewed in some areas.

Also post reviews and pertinent comments from your state and area's newspapers and publications.

[bonfire]

Geez....we had the Cinemark employees at the exits yelling: Please go to your left for the exit and we hope you enjoyed the show!

I want to call Cinemark and tell them to SHUT UP!

[bonfire]

Geez....we had the Cinemark employees at the exits yelling: Please go to your left for the exit and we hope you enjoyed the show!

I want to call Cinemark and tell them to SHUT UP!

[bonfire]

"On the drive home, at the deepest level, I felt strangely elated"

Yes! We did too.

[geopyg]

"For me also the interaction between Jesus and Simon was powerful, but I saw it differently. I saw Jesus helping Simon help Jesus carry the cross. And when Jesus' arm wraps over Simon's as they're carrying, I lost it (again)."

'Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest in your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Mt. 28-30

[Guenevere]

#602..I think he meant the imputatin of ALL our sins....
..which, in a sense, is just as horrible, or more so.

[docmcb]

Joseph was dead by then -- he was much older than Mary, as was the custom then. That's why Jesus has to appoint John to be Mary's son, to support her.

[Aquinasfan]

EAT THAT HOLLYWIERD!!!!!!!

This movie is more than a movie. It's a cultural phenomenon. Mel hinted that he is planning on doing more movies like this. Whether he does or not, this movie will spawn imitators. New Christian-friendly movie companies may be born as a result of Icon's success. Who controls the theater controls the culture.

It's not hard to see the hand of God in this. This may mark the low point in our society's dissolution, by the grace of God.

[Guenevere]

I'm thinking Mary would have been around 50...
..Joseph older.

[NutCrackerBoy]

The look of the film was unique. I wonder if Gibson will get credit for using lighting creatively. The costumes were fantastic.

I had one slight negative on the look. My first impression in the Garden of Gethsame was that something was unreal. It didn't feel like the scenes were really outside. Maybe intentional. My impression may change on subsequent viewings.

[ReleaseTheHounds]

I agree with your comments... I now feel that I have "witnessed" the Passion -- very moving and profound. I now feel, after so many years, that I really "get it."

The last 15 seconds, showing Christ resurrected, was a wonderful, hopeful moment in the movie -- and I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't the seed of Mel's sequel, The Resurrection. And I'm sure it will also be just as profound and moving.

[bray]

By far the most powerful and beautiful movie I have ever seen. The cat of nine-tails scene was so powerful, you could hear the theater burst into sobbing. Jesus is such a loving God to take my sin and carry it to the Cross. I will see this movie again and again and again. Thank you Mel.

Pray for W and Revival

[Boss_Jim_Gettys]

NickC,

Thanks for the reply. I went to see the movie after work yesterday and have the same feelings as you express. My wife has not seen it yet but is very concerned whether it would be too much for our sons. She and I plan on seeing it together, hopefully this weekend, and will decide after that.

Thanks again for your thoughtfulness.

Boss_Jim

[pax_et_bonum]

Yes, indeed. It's not just that Jesus Christ WAS God and Man; he still IS God and Man. He is the second Adam, and he's preparing a place for, not just for us, for the rest of us.

Yes, of course! Did I say "was"? If so, I was only speaking of his time on earth. Sorry if I was misleading.

not just for us, for the rest of us.

I don't understand what you mean by this.

[nickcarraway]

No problem. Sounds like a good idea.

[Aquinasfan]

Is there any record of what happened to Joseph. Was he alive when Jesus died? We know Mary was. I just was wondering what happened to Joseph.

There's no record of how or when Joseph died. Most people believe that Joseph was dead by the time of Jesus' public ministry since he doesn't appear in Scripture in those years. This reinforces the tradition that he was much older than Mary when they married.

I would have liked to have seen Joseph with Mary and Jesus in one flashback scene.

[RobRoy]

The couple next to me was laughing and joking (although very quietly) during the entire film.

[patriciaruth]

as the dove was a sign of the Heaven that awaited Christ

I believe the dove is symbolic of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the giver of faith.

[Dante3]

As to the violence, a film on Barbara Norville yesterday (a young black man, I forgot his name), said that he has seen more violence in many other films and named several. What about those films where people are blown up, dismembered, hacked with chainsaws?

In contrast, Gibson does not glamorize violence. And there are no bedroom romps, no cool banter, no plug for political correctness. No wonder Hollywood bigwigs and their lackeys are having hissy fits.

[Liz]

Mel has said he used "escape hatches" so that audiences could take a breather fom the unrelenting pain Christ was suffering. Perhaps the many mutations of evil shown were also escape hatches to help explain what was happening to Christ.

[af_vet_1981]

Will you be watching the movie?

If Mel Gibson invites me to his home I will watch it with him. Afterward I would like to discuss how much he loves Yeshua of Nazareth and whether we can help his father Hutton repent, publicly apologize, and be healed.

It would be an awesome testimony to The Passion, no ?