A Review I Probably Shouldn’t Have Written
Posted on | May 2, 2004 at 5:00 pm | 2 Comments
I saw The Passion of the Christ today, and though I’m inclined to not talk about it and avoid ruffling some feathers, I just can’t help myself….
First of all, let me say that the cinematography was wonderful. There were always lots of visual things to feast your eyes on and the shots seemed generally well-composed. Good use of colors and light/darkness. The photography allowed you to see every detail, which I suppose makes sense, since when your whole story is about the suffering that Jesus went through to save mankind from sin, and you go to great lengths to show that suffering, well then obsessing on the physical details of that suffering must be important.
But let’s talk about that story. I was brought up Catholic, so I’m very familiar with it. However, I decided going into the movie that I would try to watch it as someone who did not already know the story, say someone from another religion (although I guess you’d really have to be from another planet). And there’s the problem – it doesn’t really work from a storytelling point of view. If you don’t know already all the details, then all you can really get out of it is that Wow, this Jesus really went through a ton of suffering, and somehow that’s supposed to save mankind. The theological aspects are not explored at all. Aside from a few quick flashbacks, you don’t get anything from his life or his teachings.
So, obviously, Mel Gibson was preaching to the converted. I didn’t have a big problem with the violence, blood or gore, since showing that and making you empathize with what Christ went through seems to be the point of the movie. Besides, I’ve seen worse. But it’s a curious approach to storytelling. I just think Gibson would’ve wanted to slip something in along the lines of how it’s good to be a Christian because of who Jesus was and what he taught, not because of what he went through at the end. And since he went with that second approach, he should’ve put in more of the theological basis of why it mattered.
If you’re going to show us a two-hour movie of someone being tortured, at least give us a little context. Is it wrong (or worse, uneconomical?) to give even people intimately familiar with the story that context? I don’t think so. I wanted to feel why Gibson was so passionate (no pun intended) about all this, and that didn’t come through for me.
Okay, rain Hellfire down upon me now.
Latre.
Comments
2 Responses to “A Review I Probably Shouldn’t Have Written”
May 3rd, 2004 @ 8:10 pm
Hey, if I had feathers they’d be ruffled by now.
"Wow, the son of God really can take a punch!" – about 3 or 4 comics I’ve heard recently…
May 4th, 2004 @ 1:00 pm
Amen, brother! I was thinking the South Park kids may have engaged in deeper explorations of the theological nuances of the story than this movie. Or, I may be stoned.
Now I shall have Hellfire rained upon me – for commenting when I haven’t even seen the movie.