The Passion of the Christ

The Passion (2003) is a film about the last 12 hours of Jesus's life, financed and directed by Mel Gibson, a non-traditional Catholic.

The film was produced in Italy, on scenic locations that were selected to evoke Caravaggio's paintings. In a bold departure from previous films on the life of Christ, the dialogue was spoken entirely in Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew, and no subtitles are planned for either the film or videotape releases. Jim Cavaziel portrays perhaps the most Semitic-looking Jesus ever on film, and great attention will be paid to historical detail such as Jewish clothing and dietary customs. The crucifixion sequence reputedly are exceptionally violent and graphic.

Gibson was inspired to produce the film when he returned to the Catholic faith around 1980. After reading the Old and New Testaments, supplemented by the insights into Christ's passion and death in The Mystical City of God by Venerable Mary of Agreda (a 17th-century nun), and the writings of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich (a 17th-century stigmatic), Gibson was determined to retell the familiar story as realistically as possible.

Before the film was finished, Gibson's friend Gary Giuffre said it will "lay the blame for the death of Christ where it belongs", a statement which raised concerns that the film will promote anti-semitic views (see theological anti-Semitism).

After the film was finished, Gibson gave several private screenings in summer 2003 to people concerned with this issue. After seeing the film, the Anti-Defamation League voiced concerns that the film "will fuel hatred, bigotry and anti-Semitism" by reinforcing the notion of collective Jewish guilt for the death of Jesus. Columnist Cal Thomas said he saw in it no anti-semitic elements. [1]

It has been widely claimed that Jewish anger over the Gibson's movie reflects a double standard on part of organized American Jewry and is more about anti-Christianity than anti-Semitism. In particular, the movie "The last temptation of Christ" by Jewish director Martin Scorsese portrayed Jesus as obsessed with homosexual desire. This movie, obviously deeply offensive to traditional Christians, was not critized by the Anti-Defamation League. To some people it is difficult to understand why Jewish sensitivities are so much more important than those of Christians.

There are also several other films with the title Passion, including that directed by Jean-Luc Godard. See Passion (film).

The term The Passion is also used in a more general sense for the suffering and death of Jesus Christ or an artistic work depicting it. See Passion.

External link

• LA Rabbi Asks Mel Gibson to Reconsider Jesus Film - Yahoo News