Shocking and extremely moving. Review on The Passion of Christ Movie

Before I write a review of this movie, I would say that it is definitely unsuitable for children and it takes a pretty strong stomach to watch the extreme violence that is on show in this movie.

Personally, I came out extremely shocked out of the theatre and I could hear a lot of people sobbing loudly, that's how powerful this movie is. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called it ''...the most violent movie I have seen and will be the most violent movie ever''.

The movie details the last twelve hours of Christ. The movie is in Latin, Aramaic and Hebrew with English subtitles. Mel Gibson has depended on the book ''The Dolorous Passion of our lord the Jesus Christ'' by Anne Catherine Emmerich, an Augustinian nun. The passion plays are based on the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The story is about Christ's arrest, his trial before the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate, his condemnation to death by crucifixion and the pain and humiliation endured by him before his death. The intent of the movie was to make audiences realize the enormous pain Christ endured for their sins and to make them appreciate the quality of the sacrifice.

It surely sends out a powerful message, but Gibson doesn't seems to realize that not all of his audience will construe it properly, and instead emerge with very strong feelings about Jews and their role in the trial and crucifixion of Christ. So strong, that even non-Christians want to kill the first Jew they encounter.

The movie has got great cinematography by Caleb Deschanel and its almost as haunting as the paintings of Caravaggio (Michaelangelo Merisi) that he wants the scenes to imitate. (It still gives me the chills to remember how life-like the painting ''Judith beheading Holofernes'' was).

The soundtrack by John Debney is very haunting and it is very apt to the tone of the movie.

James Caviezel plays Jesus Christ, Maia Morgenstern plays Mary, Monica Bellucci plays Mary Magdalene, Mattia Sbraghia plays Caiphas the High Priest of the Jews, Luca Lionello plays Judas Iscariot, Rosalinda Celentano plays a very convincing Satan and Hristo Shopov plays Pontius Pilate.

My only complaint against this movie is against the depiction of Pontius Pilate, because he's depicted as an almost kind thoughtful character, but historically he was one of the most brutal rulers who's favorite method of execution was crucifixion. Other than that if you can take the intense brutality shown, it will rate much, much above ''Quo Vadis'' or ''The Last Temptation of Christ''.

Also if you watch it on a late showing, be prepared for some insomnia.

Note:

(** As an afterthought, I decided to add some material to my review, same as my comments. I definitely felt anti-Semitic and I won't blame Mel Gibson for going back to his religious roots, which is an ultraconservative form of Catholicism where the words of the Bible are taken literally. It happens to a lot of people of his age, (I've seen some of my much older liberal friends become very conservative regarding religion). But set aside the fact that the people who labeled Christ, a heretic, were Jews. I think they are humans first and I couldn't believe the depths of cruelty which humanity descended to. I fully believe that the movie is an accurate depiction of the actual crucifixion. The intent of the movie was never to stress on the principles of Christianity.

Ironically, Torquemada forgot that he was committing the same crime as the Romans / Jews during the Spanish Inquisition, going against the teachings of the very religion without which the Church wouldn't have existed. History has shown us that no religion is incorruptible, because the very people who are supposed to protect and nourish practice of its principles, are corrupted by the power bestowed on them **)