Posted on 02/26/2004 11:52:19 AM PST by GulliverSwift
The first UK screening of Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion Of The Christ provoked a furious response from Britain's Jewish community today.
Many left the Odeon in Leicester Square branding it "disgusting," "deplorable," and likely to incite racial hatred.
Depicting the last 12 hours in the life of Christ, Gibson's blood-drenched epic, which is estimated by its distributor to have made $20 million (£10.74m) in its first day in the US yesterday, had already been accused of anti-Semitism.
It shows Jewish high priests demanding Christ's crucifixion, then looking on as he is tortured and put to an agonising death.
Neville Nagler, director general of the Jewish Board of Deputies, said: "It would have been better if this film had never been made. The glorification of violence and bloodshed and the reinforcement of medieval stereotyping of the Jewish people are extremely dangerous.
"At a time when we are trying to develop co-operation and dialogue within our diverse and multi-cultural society, this film overturns the recent teachings of the Church and is completely unhelpful in fostering closer Jewish-Christian relations."
Lord Janner, former president of the Board of Deputies and now vice-president of the World Jewish Congress, said after the screening: "I hated it. The Jews come out of it as a pretty nasty lot and I believe it could cause very great harm in relations with the Jewish community."
Yitzchak Schochet, a leading rabbi, said: "The cinematography was fantastic, the acting was brilliant - but the content was deplorable in the extreme. It is filled with grotesque blood-letting. Much of it is based on hearsay.
"The idea of the priests standing there smiling as Jesus was crucified is fatally flawed. I hope they ban it, or at the very least edit out some of the scenes… No Christian will walk out of this film without bad feeling towards Jews."
Gibson is a conservative Catholic, a member of a breakaway group which does not accept the Vatican II reforms of 1962 which absolved Jews of responsibility for the crucifixion.
One of Israel's two chief rabbis today urged the Pope to reiterate the 1962 decision.
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger said: "The Vatican and the Pope must explain today ... that the Jewish nation, the Jewish people didn't kill Jesus." Rabbi Metzger said that friends who had seen the film were "deeply shocked by it."
Catholic priests were also among the 800-strong audience at the special premiere, along with members of the media, and their take on the film was markedly different.
Father Mark Hackeson, from Norfolk, said: "I thought it was an excellent and very moving film. I do not believe it is anti-Semitic - Jesus himself was Jewish. Of course it is violent, but the crucifixion was a very violent event.
"The important thing is that the message behind the violence is one of love and forgiveness, not of condemnation."
Joseph Devine, the Bishop of Motherwell, said: "It was stunning. A remarkable achievement."
However not all Christian viewers were impressed: "I've got very mixed feelings about it," said David Lawrence, media officer for the United Reformed Church. "It's very difficult to lose the Monty Python interpretation because the film was so laden with symbolism and the acting was so laboured. The much-hyped blockbuster drew thousands in early morning screenings in the US yesterday and continued to draw crowds later in the day. It also opened in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Some devout Christians cannot see the film. The Mormon church forbids missionaries from watching television or films and discourages its followers from watching R-rated films, of which The Passion is one.
"I don't think our Lord would want me to see an R-rated film about his son," said 20-year-old Shawn Watts, a Mormon missionary, in Salt Lake City. One viewer reported died after collapsing during the bloody crucifixion scene. The current first-day box office record for a film released outside the summer and Christmas seasons is held by Hannibal which took $19.8m in February 2001. The biggest takings for a film opening on a Wednesday stand at $34.1 million (£18.3m) for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Ya think?
Yes. This is just one of several London Times articles slamming the film. Here is another one's lead:
The London Times, which over there, by the way, would have few Jewish writers, is featuring these foolish rabinnical comments to justify its own rebellion against Christianity.
That is not the real issue. No reasonable view could ask Mel Gibson to deviate from the NT text. The issue is the history of the last 2000 years and how many Jews have been persecuted by those who were thought to believe The Passion. There were many Gentiles who suffered as well. It is a difficult history to ignore. I in no way blame Yeshua of Nazareth or those who believe in him and behave righteously.
Excellent point. As usual, the annointed ones are worried about how the great unwashed (that's us) will interpret a work of art about something that happened 2000 years ago, while actual news reports of hate crimes by Jew-hating Arabs don't bother them at all.
Nor should it have been.
Alba Go Bragh!
I agree. It is hypocritical to condemn Jews and at the same time profess being a Christian. I have never been able to figure out the people who do that, unless they learned on dad and Grampa's knee when young.
Forgive me for saying this, but that comment comes off as callous.
I don't doubt that the movie is beautiful...I think I hope it does well.
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