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Thumbs Up

Saw it tonight. I can't even comment. Don't have the words. Go see it, do not deprive yourself of this.

I cried almost continutally for two hours. I have never seen people in such silence exiting a cinema.... I didn't think I would feel a different person after seeing that last night but I do. Its pretty hard to explain but somehow I just feel closer to God than I ever have. I pray every morning but today I rose extra early, I couldn't get that picture out of my head. I cried on the way to work.

I have never been touched by a movie as I was by this. The violence was horrific, but that is not what I will remember the most - it is the love shown between Christ and His mother, between Christ and the apostles, and the Love Christ showed for me - and it was that personal for me. If anyone had told me that amidst all the violence, that the thing I would experience and remember the most was Christ's love, I would not have believed them, but that is what I felt, and still feel.
The movie wrecked me. It stripped me down emotionally and intellectually. It made me shake, cry and flinch, even jump at times. But, at the end, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace and calm that I cannot begin to describe.

Mr. Gibson did the right thing in depicting the Passion in this manner. All we can do is watch and listen. We can not smell the blood. We cannot experience the raw, basic, emotions that were running rampant at the time. After all, if you or I can not get a decent understanding of Christ Jesus' physical suffering, how will we ever have an inkling of the deeper suffering that Christ underwent on behalf of you and me?

It is an incredible movie. Very powerful, graphic and thought provoking. Is it worth seeing? Certainly! Is it worth discussion within the congregation? Without a doubt! Will I see it again? Yes!

I found it much more impacting and important for reminding us all just how much He went through to "take on all sin". From our 2000 year-old perspective, it's so easy to minimize that. We can't conceive of the beating He took... of the torment He was put through. And He did it for me... It was pretty awesome.

My wife and I have a son who is 29 years old. I saw HIM being in Christ's place and me having to watch him being tortured. It left me with a greater appreciation for what Mary went through.

Thumbs Down

I found nothing in the God of this movie to love, worship, dedicate my life to. The impression I received was that Jesus was begging God for succor and was ignored. See the movie. It's visually stunning, impeccably acted, and all the details are top-notch. But be prepared not to like it.

I thought this Gibson production was an obscenity -- an orgy of sado-masochism. It was two hours of unnecessary violence with 4 moments of Christs love -- totally inexcusable... Instead of coming away thankful to Jesus for taking my sins, I felt dirty and wanted to to take a bath for even watching the atrocious actions on this screen. If any one of my sins led to this kind of suffering for Jesus I claim it back and I will gladly face hell rather than have one lash put on him.

Mixed Feelings

I cried (sobbed) through a good majority of it. The acting was great, the stunts, music, etc. As a movie I thought it was very well done. As far as accuracy, I think it did a good job. After seeing it I still do not see why there is all the fuss... The ending though, pretty much sucked. Ten seconds of Him sitting in the dark tomb. Not the glory that the Ressurection really is. Overall, I loved it.

Michelle The Rebellious R-rated movie watching Mormon :)

We left the theater feeling physically assaulted and drained. I want to meditate on it some more. I don't know exactly what I think of it yet. It is definately a movie for Christians, more so than unbelievers.

My soul feels squeezed and I'm slightly depressed.

I did view it as one, long, arduous, gut wrenching, emotional 2 hour prayer. That's sort of how I felt leaving. Drained, having encountered The Truth, saddened, disturbed, resolved.

It's a lot to sort out. Under the morass in my head there's still the Jesus Whom I know. I've got to dredge the swamp and deal with the rotted stuff that will come to life. this movie didn't shake my faith, cause me to doubt, or, conversely, make me want to run back into the arms of Holy Mother RCC. (Heaven forfend!) It was Mel's expiation. If his desire was to make the audience feel horrified, culpable, and angry at a God Who would cause all that, then he succeded admirably.

Gibson's Devil

The devil is in the background, in the crowd. What is he/she doing, observing? Influencing? Witnessing? It is never clear, but isn't that the nature of evil? I thought it was wonderful.


I thought what was very powerful was the use of the personification of Satan always lurking in the background. That was creepy but effective. And, the children that are taunting Judas who then sort of turn into demonic figures. I had to close my eyes during the flogging scenes. Overall I thought it was well done and got the message across of Christ's willing sacrifice for us.

Flashback Scenes

I found myself more touched by the reactions and facial expressions of those around Jesus, than by him. I found the flashbacks to be particularly touching, almost more so than the scourging or the long walk to Golgatha. In particular, Mary's flashback to Jesus as a child got to me. There was a woman beside me who was racked with tears before the scourging was finished. As the film progressed, she sobbed loudly. I felt great empathy for her, knowing that she truly, completely believed and would carry this experience with her for the rest of her life.

I'm a tick over 12 hours out of the movie, but not really -- the movie is still in my head and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. I think that if there had been more flashbacks I would've sympathized more with this Jesus. I liked him a bit in the flashbacks, although the Last Supper/Sermon on the Mount seemed to be simply biblical passages slapped on celluloid. This was an "unsympathetic" Jesus. IOW, I was horrified at the brutality of it all, but not exactly personally involved. There was no, well, character development. I think that's my drift.

"Frankly, after two hours of beatings and scourgings and nails being beaten into palms, I was more touched by a flashback to Jesus as a child falling, and Mary running to his side than any of that. On the other hand, the Satan portrayal was great. Very creepy."

Views From Non-Christians

I got back from the movie an hour or so ago, and I am still a bit numb. I never thought this movie was going to affect me like this. I had some problems figuring who some people were, in the beginning, and I am sure I missed some things {not being a Christian}. I could not even muster a smile or a nod when passing people, like I normally do, while leaving the theatre. I also just sat, in the cold, in my car for a bit before I could drive home. Despite all of this, I will go and see the movie again, after reading a bit, and see if I can clear up the bits and pieces that I was not sure about. I also have to add that I really liked that fact that the language was spoken how it was, as I was most interested in the Latin, since I have been studing this.

So with nearly 12 hours between me and the movie, my further thoughts... There was a part of me that was afraid of this movie, afraid that it would break me, that my faith would waver and the old, familiar doubt would creep back into my life. I went anyway, and opened myself to the experience as much as I consciously could. I came out the other side feeling my faith in my Mother much stronger than it was going in. She may be a warrior, but she would find no honor in the "idea" of this kind of death, nor in the thought that this was in some way atoning.

Anti-Semitism?

I REALLY didn't like Caiaphas, but did never once equate my disgust for Caiaphas with all Jews everywhere in all times. The only prejudice I have seen thus far is not prejudice against Jews, but prejudice FROM Jews. However, anyone who has seen the movie will be reminded of Christ's words on the cross, interestingly enough directed towards Caiaphas, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."

I didn't see it as anti-Semitic, maybe anti-Roman, but not anti-Semitic.

I think the movie did a fairly good job giving Pilate social and political motives for his actions, rather than ones of compassion.

I think the depiction of MANY (note: not ALL) of the Jewish high priests of the Sanhedrin was almost Vaudvillian in their acting as villains (you could almost see a couple of them twisting their mustaches and saying "Nyaaa-haaa-haaa-haa-haa!) But the film ALSO portrayed other members of the Sanhedrin as being very legalistic and devout.

Those who commited the beatings apparently did it because that's what they liked doing. Not out of convictions one way or another. I think that was a pretty good statement.

I saw the movie on Tuesday night which was sponsored by the Jewish Federation. We invited the Catholics and their Bishop for a joint viewing of the film. As for the film being anti-Semitic - it can certainly be used as a weapon against Jews, but I am more concerned about how it will be received in Europe than the U.S.

I must say that even if one doesn't believe in Jesus as MH"M they will certainly be effected by this film. I feel sorry for anyone who had to go through even a fourth of what this movie portrays that he did. No man deserved anything like this, blasphemous or not. As far as the anti-semitism charge goes. I really didn't see any. If anyone went into this movie with anti-semitic feeling, there views aren't going to change. But those who aren't anti-semitic, well, they won't become so because of this movie.

Kol Tuv,
Michel