Passion of the Christ (10/10)
Copyright
©
2004 by Tony Medley
Fortunately, this
wasn’t what I expected, which was two hours of unrelenting torture. In
fact, the first hour of this film is a relatively non-violent, realistic
rending of Christ’s anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane as He
anticipates the agonizing death He's about to endure, His arrest, and
His trials before the Jewish Sanhedrin, the Roman Prefect, Pontius
Pilate, and King Herod. The violence begins after about 55 minutes with
the Scourging at the Pillar, which is also not as graphic as I had
anticipated. Although it’s extremely violent, it’s mostly shown
through the vivid sounds of the whips and cats o’ nine tails as they
strike Christ and reaction shots. From
that point on neither Jesus nor the audience gets a respite as
He’s taken, shaking with agony and shock, from the Pillar to Pilate
who, while “washing his hands” of Christ, delivers him into the
hands of his executioners to do the bidding of the Jewish High Priest,
Caiaphas, to be crucified. The most graphic violence is the crucifixion,
which shows nails actually hammered into His hands. The Romans are
pictured as brutal, sadistic animals as they torture and kill Jesus with
glee. James Caviezel is by far the best
Christ ever to appear in the movies, a real man. Maia Morgenstern is a
strangely dispassionate Mary.
Just because
Caiaphas is Jewish doesn’t make this anti-Semitic. You can’t make a
Biblical epic about the Passion and death of Jesus without showing
Caiaphas as the prime mover in His crucifixion, because that’s what it
says in the New Testament, and there is no other historical account of
His execution.
But let’s deal
with the depiction of Caiaphas by Writer-Director Mel Gibson and whether
or not it’s anti-Semitic. Caiaphas
was High Priest from 18-36 A.D. As High Priest, he was also head of the
Sanhedrin, which sat in judgment of people like Jesus. According to the
contemporary Jewish historian Josephus, Caiaphas had a well-known close
working relationship with Pontius Pilate. In fact, Josephus reports that
both Pilate and Caiaphas were replaced in 36 A.D. by the Syrian Governor
Vitellus, probably because of their close collaboration. So the Biblical
account of Pilate acceding to Caiaphas’ desire to execute Jesus is not
at all improbable. In fact, Josephus describes the High Priests of the
House of Annas (Caiaphas’ father-in-law, and his predecessor as High
Priest, approximately 6-15 A.D.) as “heartless when they sit in
judgment.” So all historical accounts, both Biblical and secular, seem
to agree as to the character of Caiaphas, and Gibson’s portrayal of
him is consistent. Further, Josephus confirms the Biblical account of
Jesus’ trial, saying, “On the accusation of the leading men of our
people, Pilate condemned Him to death upon the cross; …”
Just because the
Jewish High Priest at the time of Christ was the primary person
responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus, and is accurately portrayed as
such, does not make this film anti-Semitic. If it were so, then
depictions of Adolph Hitler as a madman could be considered
Germanophobic; an unflattering portrayal of Henry VIII or Cromwell could
be considered Anglophobic. It wouldn’t stop. No, what Gibson’s
portrayal of Caiaphas does is make the film faithful to the existing
record.
To further debunk
this unfair rap of anti-Semitism, just about everyone in the film, save
the Romans, is Jewish. Jesus, was, after all, Jewish. So were Mary, his
mother, Mary Magdalene, John, Peter, and all the disciples. So was Simon
of Cyrene, who was enlisted to help Jesus carry the cross. They are all
depicted favorably.
The only criticism I
have of the film is the decision to perform in Aramaic and Latin with
subtitles. I’m used to seeing subtitles because a large percentage of
the good films made today is foreign. But there is no doubt that having
to read subtitles does detract from the ability to concentrate on
what’s taking place onscreen.
For
most Christians the crucifixion has become sort of a cliché, something
they know happened without really appreciating what agony it was. Passion
shows what a truly horrible death Christ experienced.
When we see what inhuman treatment he
received, His forgiveness of His malefactors while hanging on the cross
makes an indelible impression.
This is not for
children, but it’s a must see for Christians. Even if you’re not
religious or Christian, it’s a magnificent story well told. In Aramaic and Latin
with subtitles.
February 28, 2004
The End
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