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What do you make of all this? I thought it was( and much of it probably is) knee jerkism on the part of liberals. But is Gibson's dad a holocaust denier? And is Gibson following the text of someone who held strange notions about Jews and Passover? Is there any there there? I must say, Hitchens makes me wonder. I thought it was cut and dried...a brutal but faithful to the bible depiction. I thought the left was just being hysterical. What gives?

Yes, Hutton Gibson is a holocaust denier, and although he's usually canny enough to avoid saying anything too stupid, he occasionally slips. And yes, Mel took some of the material from the lurid fantasy of the crucifixion written by an undeniably anti-semitic German nun a couple of hundred years ago.

I'm glad that Hitchens is pointing out what has worried me about this film, though. Namely, how is this film going to be seen in other countries? Here in the U.S., where there's both a strong religious sentiment and extremely little history of real, violent, anti-semitism, the film's not going to do much to inflame things, and it will well serve a large audience.

But how is it going to be seen in Germany, in Poland, in Russia, in France, countries with long histories of anti-semitism and regular additions to that history? Will it be used as a tool by those forces, as it could be, especially when it comes out on DVD and VHS, and anyone can cut their own version to highlight an agenda.

I'm not saying that Mel shouldn't have made the movie. He should make whatever he wants, just like I should be able to make a movie that's two hours of a child being raped and tortured in front of her parents in a Baghdad basement. That one would probably do some people some good, too. But I can't be surprised when I learn other people are watching it with a different state of mind.

Huck,

It's okay.

Gibson's father thinks the number of Jews killed during the Holocaust has been exaggerated by the Jews. Hutton Gibson is on record. Mel does not think this. Mel is on record as well. What Mel won't let the Media do is create a public division between his father and himself. Can't say that I blame him.

Some of the movie comes from two mystic nuns revelations of the Passion. Did they have strange beliefs? I guess that depends on who you talk to.

Nothing gives... don't let others decide the movie for you. Go see it for yourself.