Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of the Christ': who has a stomach for violence like this?
A review by Geoffrey Stevenson
Geoffrey Stevenson, of Durham University's Centre for Christian Communication, saw 'The Passion of the Christ' at the National Religious Broadcasters' Convention Preview on 16th February 2004, in Charlotte, NC. Here are his reflections on that preview:
This film is a skillfully crafted, beautifully acted, stunningly filmed corporate achievement. At the same time it is a highly personal meditation by Mel Gibson on the sufferings of Christ - which he has called the greatest love story of all time. It is clearly a labour of his love - underwriting it to the tune of $25m. The critics have been sharpening their knives, and some predicted a folie de grandeur - type flop. It doesn't look that way now, not in America. But even if it is big at the box office, there are far more important questions to consider than whether Gibson is receiving a good return on his money.
Such as, who has a stomach for violence like this? For it is a fearsome and bloody spectacle, containing many potent images of graphic intensity. They include a seemingly interminable scourging, first with rod, then with cat-o-nine-tails, countless falls on the Via Dolorosa and on up to Golgotha, and the gruesome stretching and nailing of Christ to the cross. The story - as well as the story-telling - will be received in very different ways by different viewers. Some will be fascinated. Some will be appalled and offended. Some will be engrossed in spite of themselves, unable to turn away from the inexorable progress of the torture and execution. Some will find themselves praying that somehow this time the story won't end they way it always has whenever it has been told for nearly 2000 years.
This is violence with reverence, not violence with fun. The almost unbearable sufferings are inter-cut with the reactions of the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, Peter and the disciples, and with scenes from the life and ministry of Jesus. These all work to foreshadow, to explain, and to some extent to subvert the violence. There is achieved an aching pity - particularly in the emphasis on Mary the mother of Jesus, an area where the film's Catholicism stands out.
Similarly, the blood of Christ spreads through the movie like a glassful of red wine spilt onto an expanse of white linen. How can such a stain on human history remove the stain of our individual and corporate sin? This mystery of God's economy is where the purpose of the film is to be found, and it points to the fact that the essential meanings of the film can only be received by faith.
However, the visual sequences leave little or nothing to the imagination. Here there is an acute contrast with the way the biblical accounts work with their terse, economical language. Would a first-century reader familiar with a Roman crucifixion fill in for themselves the kind of visual detail provided by this film, and would they respond similarly? Actually, it is hard to say with certainty what psychological experiences were like in a culture so removed from our own. In any case, post - 'The Exorcist', post - 9/11, and even post - 'Saving Private Ryan', we are in a very different place regarding violent death on our screens.
One reviewer called it a 'sickening bloodbath suitable only for sadists.' A motion picture is entertainment. Arguably it is pornography when violence is depicted or enacted for entertainment. The viewer pays, enters, watches and leaves. There is no interaction. There is no response expected or demanded. Of course the Church has told the story graphically enough throughout its history in words and pictures, art and icon. It has escaped the charge of sick voyeurism (for the most part) by pointing to purpose, by placing in context, and by incorporating the viewer into the community which in turn finds its meaning in this story.
I doubt many will be scared, catapulted or shocked into faith by this film. The challenge to the Church is to provide the context that will redeem this spectacle of gore. From discussion groups to youth meetings, from sponsored showings to sermons and homilies on the subject, this movie of the Passion needs be enfolded in the story of the Church and the story of God's plan.
Will it have an impact on our society? Certainly there will be an impact on thousands and thousands of Christians receiving a fresh and powerful renewal of the basis of their relationship with God. What about the impact on perhaps even more individuals who, like the young woman who requested a cross from the jeweller 'but without the little man on it,' have never heard the story of a 1 st Century Jewish rabbi executed for claiming to be God?
Mel Gibson's film will provoke strong reactions, and its many brilliant and disturbing features will lead to heated arguments. Beyond the media storm, I guess that there will be an unparalleled range of opportunities to commend and explain the central story of our faith both in and outside of the church. Are we ready for it?
Buy 'The Passion' here
As a DVD:
Order from the UK
Order from the USA
As a video tape:
Order from the UK
Order from the USA
The official 'The Passion of the Christ' site
'Passion prompts murder confession' - this, and a wide range of other Passion-related stories from the BBC
Free promotional materials for the film
Tell a friend by email (or text message) about the availability of movie clips
of the film at:
http://www.buzzplant.com/passion/
See the Passion.com - 'See the Passion with your own eyes; feel it in your heart for ever.' - An independent website supporting the movie.
A News Anchor's Perspective: "Nothing in my existence... could have prepared me for what I saw on-screen last night" - Review by Jody Dean, Dallas-Ft. Worth anchor for CBS.
"...the most gut-wrenching, emotional and life-changing two hours of my life." - Review by J R Whitby, director of Gospelcom.net
Will Mel Gibson's Passion of Christ help save Christianity? Article by Daniel Johnson in the 11th February 2004 issue of the London Daily Telegraph
'Who would want to see a film this violent?' The first UK review of the film, by John Hiscock in the London Daily Telegraph
Leadership University feature article on 'The Passion' - also contains a wide range of links to additional articles.