Whereas the words say love, love, love, the sounds and images say hate, hate, hate.
The Passion of the Christ (2004)
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Reviews Counted:259
Fresh:129
Rotten:130
Average Rating:5.9/10
Consensus: The graphic details of Jesus' torture make the movie tough to sit through and obscure whatever message it is trying to convey.
Theatrical Release:Feb 25, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $370,203,632
Synopsis: The Passion of The Christ is a film about the last twelve hours of Jesus of Nazareth's life. The film opens in the Garden of Olives (Gethsemane) where Jesus has gone to pray after the Last Supper.... The Passion of The Christ is a film about the last twelve hours of Jesus of Nazareth's life. The film opens in the Garden of Olives (Gethsemane) where Jesus has gone to pray after the Last Supper. Jesus resists Satan's temptations. Betrayed by Judas Iscariot, Jesus is arrested and taken back to within the city walls of Jerusalem where the leaders of the Pharisees confront him with accusations of blasphemy and his results in a condemnations of death. Jesus is brought before Pilate, the Roman Governor of Palestine, who listens to the accusations leveled at him by the Pharisees. Realizing he is confronting a political conflict, Pilate defers to King Herod in the matter. Herod returns Jesus to Pilate who gives the crowd a choice between Jesus and the criminal Barabbas. The crowd chooses to have Barabbas set free and to condemn Jesus. Jesus is handed over to the Roman soldiers and flagellated. Unrecognizable now, he is brought back before Pilate, who presents him to the crowd as if to say "is this not enough?" It is not. Pilate washes his hands of the entire dilemma, ordering his men to do as the crowd wishes. Jesus is presented with the cross and is ordered to carry it through the streets of Jerusalem all the way up to Golgotha. On Golgotha, Jesus is nailed to the cross and undergoes his last temptation -- the fear that he has been abandoned by his Father. He overcomes his fear, looks at Mary, his Holy Mother, and makes the pronouncement which only she can fully understand, "it is accomplished." He then dies: "into Thy hands I commend my Spirit." At the moment of his death, nature itself overturns. -- © Newmarket Films [More]
Starring: James Caviezel, Maia Morgenstern, Monica Bellucci, Mattia Sbragia
Starring: James Caviezel, Maia Morgenstern, Monica Bellucci, Mattia Sbragia, Claudia Gerini, Luca Lionello, Hristo Shopov
Director: Mel Gibson
Director: Mel Gibson
Screenwriter: Mel Gibson, Benedict Fitzgerald
Producer: Bruce Davey, Stephen McEveety
Composer: John Debney
Studio: Newmarket Films
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Release:
Feb 17, 2009
Reviews for The Passion of the Christ
It’s not an instructive or illuminating experience...but a visceral and vicious one. [I]t’s Mel Gibson on a bloody pulpit preaching to the converted.
The movie's biggest sin lies not in where it chooses to cast blame, but in its bungled attempt at manufacturing what I suppose you'd have to call an epiphany of excess.
'Is Mel Gibson "wacko?" … You'd have to be wacked out of your mind to cultivate the desire to create the most realistic depiction of the crucifixion in the history of cinema.'
From a technical standpoint, the film is impressive. From a narrative or message-bringing standpoint, it left me wanting. And the violence....
Gibson has basically taken the greatest story ever told and turned it into a snuff film ... It's Kill Bill for the churchgoing crowd.
In a world that has lost grasp of the real values in life, The Passion of the Christ is a timely piece that makes you reflect on the true worth of faith and love.
As a film it is nothing but a long third act with no story and, most importantly, NO character development for anyone other than Pilate.
Gibson's obsession with the pain and suffering of Jesus, sublime and terrible, does not transubstantiate into spirituality; rather, the brutality of his film at first repels, then numbs, and finally titillates.
This is one man's vision of that time and as a movie... it's pretty damn good!
If Gibson's central wish was for people to discuss Jesus, mission accomplished. If you can manage to disregard the hype, you'll witness a wonderfully made film.
a film about the last hours of Christ that is both reverent, but also frighteningly realistic and frequently daring
A story of betrayal and vindictiveness leading to a mind-numbing gorefest that provokes exhaustion more than it inspires the 'tolerance, love and forgiveness' which is one of Gibson's stated aims.
It's too turgid to awe the nonbelievers, too zealous to inspire and often too silly to take seriously.
If Gibson’s use of blood and violence makes his audience squirm in their seats and allows the audience to question his film – then he’s done his job as a filmmaker...
This isn’t a movie: it’s a theme-park ride for Jesus freaks. SEE the hunks of flesh ripped from Jesus’ side! EXPERIENCE the stations of the cross like never before!
'The Passion of the Christ' invigorates because Gibson's artistic choices have serious theological implications.
Latest News for The Passion of the Christ
October 03, 2008:
Further Reading: Marion Cotillard and Forest Whittaker in Abel Ferrara's Mary
As the NFT in London prepares a Juliette Binoche season, Kim looks at Abel Ferrara's Mary which also stars Marion Cotillard and Forest Whittaker. More...
May 16, 2008:
Hollywood's Prayers for Spiritual Revenue Go Unanswered ![]()
As The Passion of the Christ proved, there's a lot of money in so-called "faith-based" film marketing -- but it's proving disappointingly elusive for the major studios. More...
February 27, 2007:
James Cameron's "Jesus" Doco Causes Controversy
The James Cameron-produced documentary called "The Lost Tomb of Jesus" is causing a whole lot of stir among the religious community for trying to assert that, after... More...
February 05, 2007:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: "Messengers" Scores Slim Win Over Super Bowl Weekend
With the Super Bowl taking males out of the picture, mothers and daughters squared off at the North American box office this weekend with the younger set earning a slim victory.... More...
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