Posted on 06/26/2003 7:02:56 PM PDT by Polycarp
I SAW THE PASSION
Barbara Nicolosi
6/26/03
So I was at a private screening at Icon Productions yesterday, and got to see a rough cut of The Passion. There were about twelve people in the room, including Mel Gibson, his producing partner Steve and four or five other Icon staffers. After the screening, we talked to Mel and friends for about an hour. (As cool as that was, the quality of the film was such that the celebrity stuff was completely gone from the moment. I can't explain it really, except that it would be like standing in the Sistine Chapel next to, well, someone like Mel Gibson. Great art is a great leveler....) The rough cut we saw obviously didn't have the final score or special effects, and there were many more sub-titles than they will have in the finished film.
So, here's my take...
The Passion is a stunning work of art. It is a devout, act of worship from Mel and his collaborators - in the way that Handel's Messiah and Notre Dame were artistic acts of worship in previous times.
Let's get the controversy out of the way right at the top. The film is faithful to the Gospel, particularly St. John. It is no more anti-Semitic than is the Gospel. There are at least two members of the Sanhedrin who come forward to protest on Jesus' behalf during the sham trial. The Romans are just as guilty of cruelty and hatred against Jesus in the film. And best of all is a final look right into the camera of Mary, holding her dead Son. She is looking at all of us with a kind of , "Look what you've done"/This is for you" expression. A cinematic Pieta worthy of Michelangelo.
Having seen the film now, I can only marvel that the attacks are pretty much demonic. Hopefully, the devil will end up spitefully biting his own tail on this one-- as he does in The Passion by inciting on the executioners of Christ, and thus being complicit in his own ultimate defeat. The Passion is high art. It is the greatest movie about Jesus ever made. In the discussion following the film, Mel and co. were asking us how mainstream theater audiences would react to the film. I told them, "Who cares? What you have here is so much more than just a product to sell. It will live forever, regardless of whether it is a commercial success for you or not."
For those of us who love Jesus, The Passion is devastating to watch. It is so good, I almost couldn't stand it. There is one moment on the way of the cross sequence, in which the whole tragedy unfolding devolves into a vicious riot of hatred between Romans and Jews with the Savior on the ground in the middle of it getting it from both sides. It was so frenzied and terrible, I wanted to run from the room. But then, the film again finds Mary, Jesus's Mother on the sidelines, and her presence gets us through it. Kind of like how Mary's presence helped Jesus get through it, it seemed to me.
The film is lovingly Marian. Mary is perfectly portrayed here. She is contrasted repeatedly with the really super creepy Satan character, who is also a woman (something for the feminist theologians here? heh heh...).
The film is strongly Eucharistic. There is a beautiful juxtaposition of images that cuts from the stripping on Calvary to the unwrapping of the bread to be used at the last Supper. Fabulous stuff.
Every Christian needs to see this film at least once. Just to remember, in our current comfort zones while evil is closing in, the price that was paid for us. On my way home from the screening, I found myself praying in the car, "Jesus, I'm so sorry, I forgot..." How many films have led you to compunction lately? The Passion is a miracle.
By the way, Jesus did exist during the 30 years because the Bible says he was born in the flesh 30 years before he approached John the Baptist. (Worked as a carpenter, went to the Temple as a boy, lived as a human, etc.)
Very often.
And no, I'm not Catholic. Just a Christian, no more and no less. I prefer the "speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where it is silent" way of living the Christian life.
As God is transcendent (doesn't wear a Timex or Rolex) the Eucharist is a participation in the original event.
Pray for GW and The Way
I like that.
"Here is the description I posted on the Rosary Army website after seeing the trailer at last Saturday's Eucharistic Congress:
"There was no English spoken in the scenes shown and the actors were all speaking Latin and Aramaic. The images that stuck out the most were the gratuitousness of the scourging of Jesus before his Crucifixion, Mary stepping on the head of a snake, and the slow motion scene of the Pharisees throwing a bag of silver clear across a room to Judas Iscariot, who has trouble catching it and coins spill all over the floor. They also showed many images of the Crucifixion itself, which definitely reminded me of the end of Braveheart and how much Gibson went for realism. They showed the end of a nail being placed in Jesus' palm, pushed down, and then the hammer about to strike, but stopped short of actually showing the piercing. I won't be surprised at all, though, if they do show that in the movie." The showed the trailer twice and supposedly before the first showing (I only saw the second) they announced the movie would be released on Ash Wednesday.
There were a lot of scenes in the trailer of a yellowish looking snake slithering, and a distinct image of a foot stepping down on it. I don't remember seeing a Pieta-like image in the trailer. The image of Judas and the bag of coins is what really got me."
That is about the most ignorant statement yet on this thread. The gospels are nothing but detailed vingettes of Christ's ministry. The gospels are not exhaustive, but they are detailed.
Perhaps you should learn what you are talking about before you pretend to be an authority.
What's that all about ?
excerpt:
"According to I Jn 3:8, the express purpose of the coming of Jesus into the world was 'that he might destroy the works of the devil'. Everywhere in the NT we see a great conflict between the forces of God on one hand, and those of evil led by Satan on the other. The severity of the conflict is clear."
Gee...that tolerance and opened mindedness isn't what the liberals in the media tell me about your faith. Who am I to believe? Those, such as yourself, in the faith or the antiChristian bigots at the New York Times, ABC, CBS and NBC?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.