Update On The Passion of the Christ

Since I posted below on the reviews coming in on Mel Gibson's February movie, The Passion of the Christ, more reviews have arrived. Scroll down a bit and look for references to "BNAT 5."

There's still a strong concensus that this will be a blockbuster, powerful and much discussed film. The only negatives seem to have to do with the pacing of the movie, which some have labelled as slow. It also seems that fears of anti-Semitism may have some merit, as most noticed it could be read into the film, but those who paid attention would know the difference between a political fight in a community and the whole community acting together. We'll see. I still think this will arrive in the media as "Mel Gibson's controversial new movie, which some are calling anti-Semitic."

For one example of what's to come, critic-wise, try this story from the Village Voice. The author labors mightily to show us Gibson's Christ-obsession, or his "Jesus Christ pose," as she calls it. She has pictures, too. Oof!

The only two legimate criticisms I've seen so far are that the film doesn't use Greek as one of the main languages, which it would have been in that time and place, and that the actors are, again, European and not Semitic.

There's now an official website, and a trailer is available in several formats. Watch the trailer and see what you think. It gives you a sense of the brutality of Jesus' ordeal, something that everyone is commenting on for it's long, unrelenting nature. It seems that many of the reviewers in this bunch realise that it is what Jesus chose to endure for others that made his sacrifice so meaningful, something that most films haven't really dwelt on too closely. Gibson has chosen to show it unflinchingly and at length.

It's gonna be a big one.