THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
*** out of *****

Genre
Drama
Religion

2004
Directed by
Mel Gibson
Written by
Benedict Fitzgerald and Mel Gibson
Cast
James Caviezel .... Jesus
Maia Morgenstern .... Mary
Hristo Jivkov .... John
Francesco De Vito .... Peter
Monica Bellucci .... Magdalen
Mattia Sbragia .... Caiphas
Toni Bertorelli .... Annas
Luca Lionello .... Judas
Hristo Shopov .... Pontius Pilate
Claudia Gerini .... Claudia Procles
Fabio Sartor .... Abenader
Giacinto Ferro .... Joseph of Arimathea
Olek Mincer .... Nicodemus

The Passion of the Christ was a project long in the pipeline for Academy Award-winning director Mel Gibson, a Catholic himself for who the realisation of this film was his ultimate goal. After a clearing a slew of films off his schedule, Gibson found the time in late 2002 and early 2003 to make this film, financing the entire $30 million (USD) budget himself through his Icon production company. In early reports it was noted that Gibson planned to shoot the film in a combination of Aramaic, Hebrew and Latin without subtitles. For the long production period news from the set was limited, aside from the occasional photograph leaked to the media or released officially all we knew was that the film will follow the last 12 hours of Jesus’ life on earth.

In late 2003 the first trailer was released, completely void of any dialogue but featuring breathtaking shots with music from the score. But when the studio saw the first cut of the film they told Gibson to take it somewhere else, citing extreme violence and anti-Semitic overtones. Over the next few months he took the film to virtually every studio for a distribution deal but the anti-Semitic stigma the film had garnered through the press kept Hollywood away.

Eventually Newmarket Films, a fledgling distribution company originally founded by b-movie icon Roger Corman, picked the film up for distribution. Before the film’s release the media went into overdrive discussing the violence in the film and whether it will actually make money or be forgotten. Whether it was good or bad publicity, the film was gaining a reputation before the public even had a chance to see it.

The film opened on Ash Wednesday the 25th of February 2004 at the #1 spot with a record-breaking 5-day gross of US$83,848,082 and eventually earned a total of US$370,274,604 domestically and a worldwide box office of over US$600 million making The Passion of the Christ the 24th highest all-time worldwide box office earner and the #9 highest all-time US box-office earner. Despite the controversy, despite the distribution problems, and despite the anti-Semitic criticism, the film was a huge success.

As stated before, the film focuses on the last 12 hours of Jesus of Nazareth's life (James Caviezel) and begins in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus has gone to pray after sitting at the Last Supper, and Jesus must resist the temptations of Satan (Rosalinda Celentano). He is then betrayed by Judas (Luca Lionelle), Jesus is arrested and taken within the city walls of Jerusalem where leaders of the Pharisees confront him with accusations of blasphemy and his trial results in a condemnation to death. Jesus is punished by whip, but when the punishment is unsatisfactory the crowd choose to free a murderer back into society rather than let Jesus go, and he is sentenced to be crucified. The Romans lay a cross on his back and force him to carry it to the mound where the crucifixion will take place. The torture and subsequent crucifixion are shown here in graphic detail, and may be a bit much for some viewers to take, so watch this at your discretion.

Controversy aside and whether you are a Christian or not, or whether you believe this story or not “The Passion of the Christ” is an extremely well made film, the performances from the cast are nothing short of spectacular. Especially Caviezel, who went through a tough time while filming (being accidentally whipped twice, he was struck by lightning while filming the Sermon on the Mount, and during the crucifixion he experienced hypothermia and his shoulder was separated when the prop cross fell on him). Additionally, Monica Bellucci as Magdalene and Maia Morgenstern as Mary scenes, although having little dialogue, include a phenomenal amount of emotional acting that would be draining on many actors having to repeat those performances over and over again for shot coverage.

The photography by 4-time Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Caleb Deschanel is simply stunning, the colour palette suits the period and environment accurately. One other stand out aspect is the beautifully conducted score by John Debney which is both powerful and moving considering the images they are cut with. Artistically and technically this film is excellent, whether you wish to view this is entirely up to you, making a recommendation seems useless in this context.

Finger_Of_DOOM's reviews also appear on DVD Compare, where they include details of the DVD release. For this review click here.

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