[Eala]

SUPERB! I have been waiting for someone to say this (yeah, why didn't I write it myself?):

William Safire asserts that Gibson searches in the movie for someone to blame for Jesus's tortures, and settles on the Jews.

I am entirely unable to share this perception. The high priest Caiphas is depicted as villainous, a cruel, power-seeking political schemer.

But a considerable number of dissenters in the Jewish leadership [essentially defending Jesus] are shown being brutally silenced by Caiphas's claque.

As others have pointed out, all the good people in the picture are Jews. In a telling scene, a Roman soldier uses "Jew!" as an insult against the noble Simon of Cyrene, who helps Jesus carry his cross and tries to protect him from the clubs and whips of the soldiers.

I like this Aussie reviewer!

[geopyg]

"As others have pointed out, all the good people in the picture are Jews. In a telling scene, a Roman soldier uses "Jew!" as an insult against the noble Simon of Cyrene, who helps Jesus carry his cross and tries to protect him from the clubs and whips of the soldiers."

I think it was O'Reilley who asked Gibson if he put Simon in to offset the "bad" Jews. Gibson said something like "well - it's in the gospels that way. And, all I had to work with was Jews and Romans."

Of all the other movies I was thinking I might like to take my young son to see Miracle. However, I fear I might risk turning him into an anti-russiatic. I hear that the USA guys hit and try to knock over the Russians A LOT, even to the point of being gratuitous.