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.
You Protestants should REALLY try reading your Bibles sometime, instead of reading your prejudices. The ignorance and disdain I constantly see displayed about Blessed Mary is appalling!
Handel thought that because it's historically true that some Jews did participate in Jesus' death, that it's not anti-Semitic. However, Handel's father thinks that protraying Jews as "Christ killer" is anti-Semitic even if historically true. (Handel got his father to admit that yeah, some Jewish leaders at the time did participate in bring Christ before Herod and Pilate).
Of course, it's nonsense to say that "the Jews killed Christ." But it's also nonsense to say that "the Romans killed Christ." In truth, a few individuals participated in his death, some Jews, some Romans. In fact, according to the Gospels, Jesus came to die. He didn't even defend himself against Pilate.
This fear of portraying bad individuals of whatever race or religion is just the usual manifestation PC sensitivity. People should get over it.
BTW, I thought The Last Temptation Of Christ was the most believable (and pro-Christ) film I've seen to date. I don't understand why so many Chirstians were upset over it. It humanized Christ (in a good sense), unlike all those other films that portray him like a fantasized caricature.
However, the practice of attributing characteristics and practices to Mary that are not in the Bible can lead to bad theology, by Catholic, Protestant...whomever.
It's tough. Especially with the left wing politics(For the record, I'm Catholic), especially when I know for a fact they are wrong.
Mel Gibson has done something that means a lot to him, and there will be many thousands, if not a couple of million people, who will appreciate his labor. Good for Mel! Will I go see it? Probably not. I take a quiet approach towards my beliefs. These days I prefer mindless drivel from Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey, because I want to laugh...
When I was in MBA school, I took a course named "power and politics" because I knew I was weak in that area. And I knew it was a skill I needed, to survive in the corporate world.
The first thing I learned, was that EVERYTHING IS POLITICAL.
Every decision that gets made in any organization whether it's family or church or corporation or government or whatever is political. Decisions are made by whomever has the formal or informal authority to do so. And informal authority can take a lot of forms.
What gives politics a bad name is when unethical techniques are involved. And politics often includes conflict and how that conflict is handled by respective parties can make politics distasteful as well.
But the use of ethical techniques and respectful conflict resolution is the hallmark of good leadership.
Jesus didn't come to set up an earthly administration. But to say he didn't care about politics is wrong. He ran the moneytraders out of the temple. And He wasn't very diplomatic about it either. He fought a lot of spiritual battles. He fought for his disciples through prayer. He excorcised political skill with pharisees when they were constantly trying to trap him. And He exercised both formal authority and informal authority brilliantly.
The church needs people who are willing to seek the will of God, do what's right and fight for the church, fight the spiritual battles. Paul didn't teach about spiritual armor for nothing.
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