Moreover, the suffering is rendered almost hollow by a dramatic void. Gibson has provided no context so that we can understand better who Jesus is – just a series of cartoon flashbacks. We cannot empathize with Mary fully or with Peter or John – because they too are mere props for the violence. The central message of Jesus – of love and compassion and forgiveness – is reduced to sound-bites. Occasionally, such as when the message of the sermon on the mount is juxtaposed with the crucifixion, the effect is almost profound – because there has been an actual connection between who Jesus was and what happened to him. But this is the exception to the rule. Watching the movie, you can see how a truly powerful rendition could have been made – by tripling the flashbacks and context, by providing a biography of Jesus, by showing us why he endured what he endured. Instead, all that context, all that meaning, has been removed for endless sickening gratuitous violence.
I think the violence and the “lack of context” is worth discussing intelligently, without any ad hominem attacks on anyone who expresses reservations. Hate to have to be schoolmarmish here, but I want to make sure that this place is a forum for good, fruitful discussion, not just “You only dislike it because you…” or “of course you don’t like it – you….” or even “You only like it because…”
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