Posted on 03/26/2004 6:03:55 PM PST by tomball
Some given free tickets walk out before the end, reports Jonathan Petre
They emerged from the cinema whey-faced, red-eyed and numb: whatever their expectations had been, the first members of the public to see Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ were in various degrees of shock.
Some could not stand the two hours of scourging, blood and crucifixion, and eight of the 180-strong audience at yesterday's afternoon screening at the Odeon in Maidstone, Kent, walked out angrily long before the end.
One woman had to be comforted with cups of tea after she had been escorted out on the brink of tears.
Pearl Crown, 82, said: "It was awful, just awful. I should never have come. I have never seen anything so violent and awful in my life."
Mrs Crown and her husband, Frank, 88, were among those who received free tickets to the screening from a group of local churches led by St Luke's in Maidstone, which spent £20,000 buying all the seats for the first three days.
She said her Methodist faith had not been rocked by the film but she could not bear to watch the torture meted out to Christ, brutally enhanced by the digital soundtrack and graphic visual images of a Hollywood production. Her husband warned: "If you are sensitive, do not come and see this film."
Another man who left in a hurry after the scourging scene was blunter. "I am offended that the Church has decided to give out free tickets to a film like this. It is almost blasphemous."
But that view was not shared by the majority who filed out at the end dazed and struggling for words, but clearly moved.
"I'm gobsmacked after seeing that film," said Jo Marvell, 27, a holistic therapist. "I feel a bit drippy and embarrassed. I just want to go home."
A non-churchgoer - she had been in a church last month for the first time since her christening because she was preparing to get married - her eyes glistened.
"I don't like brutality and I covered my eyes for most of the time," she said. "Part of me believes in God and part of me doesn't. I don't think I feel differently."
Her boyfriend, Jeremy Druce, 37, said: "I didn't expect to come out feeling as upset as I do. It is very brutal, very moving. It moved me spiritually a little but more in despair at mankind."
Valerie Hawkins, 62, said: "I felt it reminded me of what our faith cost and what we owe. Sometimes we forget the price and that someone had to pay it. I feel numb."
James Williams, 18, who described himself as a lapsed churchgoer, said: "With most films, you come out feeling you want to talk about them. Here you come out in shock."
Russ Hughes, the director of worship and prophecy at St Luke's, defended the church scheme to give out free tickets to the film.
"This is a great way to reintroduce people to Jesus. This is not about attracting people into church but, if one person commits themselves to Jesus as a result, it will be worth the £20,000."
So WHY are the horrified the headline?!?
"I felt it reminded me of what our faith cost and what we owe. Sometimes we forget the price and that someone had to pay it. I feel numb."
yep.
Talking it down, of course...
It impacts one with a lot of power and is a fabulous note to end the film on.
I'm sure it is causing millions to deeply ponder spiritual issues and is a great service Gibson does for God IMO.
Sigh.
OH, my...she was "on the BRINK of tears." I was balling for the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan, but I did NOT leave. Sheesh. (Have yet to see The Passion.)
Yeah, the ending begs for a sequel, doesn't it?
On another note, if those 'Christians' really understood what the movie was about, they'd cheer each stripe laid on the Christ's body. Where would they be without them?
This was an absoluelty brilliant movie with fabulous interpretations.
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