I saw it last night and its still in my head, just figured I'd post about it...Yea it is a long winded post, sorry...
I was raised Catholic. Today I do not consider myself anything, I claim no religion. There are some things about the bible I believe and some I don't and there are many things about the Catholic church I despise. And as far as Christianity on a whole, born again's and "Jesus Freaks" creep me out. But I have no problem with Christians that do not push their ideals on me, claim that I am going to hell, or treat me as inferior... So I don't follow anything other than my instinct or my heart. Organized religion of any kind just isn't for me. That being said it was still difficult just to watch this as a "movie" without letting my upbringing interfere with my thoughts on the film.
But as a "Movie" it was fucking amazing. It was fucking beautifully shot, the cinematography was breath taking, every inch of celluloid was like a renaissance painting. It was just amazing to look at. And the atmosphere through out the film was incredibly tense. The entire film had this dreadful feeling to it and I don't have the writing skills to even begin to do it justice. Satan in the film is used so very effectively, the character really gives you the chills. It’s very subtle but very effective. The film does have a strong "super natural" tone. Demons, Satan, and all sorts of shit. Jesus seems "otherworldly" his eyes have a strange glow throughout the film, I assume to symbolize that he is not an ordinary man... There is also a lot of other symbolism that I could spend hours talking about, most of it will probably be lost to someone that isn't familiar with the Bible. But so much care and hard work went into this epic. Every inch of this film was so well planned out. I was in utter amazement by what I was seeing...
And yes the movie is as violent as everyone is saying, for the most part it is 2 hours of torture on the screen. It is hard to believe the film got an R. Any other film with these levels of violence would have an NC-17 for sure... It’s not only violent and gory but it is sadistic as hell. Its rough, a real rough ride. It’s so tragic and sad. But again the violence in the film is just as beautifully shot as the rest of the film. Mel Gibson uses the blood as paint for his canvas. I don't want to give anything away but there is a shot at the end of the film that could have been a scene out of Shogun Assassin...
There has never been anything like this, ever, and there never will be again. This is fucking it folks.
Filming it in the original languages of that time really added to the film. If it were in English it wouldn't have worked. It gave the film a sense of realism. Idiots that bitch and complain about subtitles make me fucking sick. Some asshole behind me in the theatre kept saying shit like: "Ah man, I gotta read this!" "Movies that you gotta read suck". I wish this prick would have kept his ass at home. Open your fucking minds a little people, fuck! I hate ignorant fucks like this.
Is it Anti-Semitic? NO. In order for the film to be anti-Semitic it would have to say that all Jewish people are evil pieces of shit. But I guess that everyone has forgotten that Jesus was Jewish, all of his disciples were Jewis, his mother was Jewish. The film has plenty of sympathetic Jewish characters, not all Jewish portrayed in the film are evil. But the simple fact is that the Pharisees wanted Jesus DEAD because he threatens their leadership, shit on their teachings, and in their eyes was Blasphemous. They wanted him dead and they had the Romas kill him. This is the way the story goes. It’s the way it is in the Bible and the film was based on the stories. The Pharisees are no more "evil" in the film then they are in the Gospels. So if the movie is anti-Semitic then so is the bible. Look, Jewish followers don't agree with the New Testament so why would they agree with the film? And why does anybody give a fuck? "Shut your fucking holes"...
The media is all over the story that Mel Gibson's father is an Anti-Semite. So my question is, what the fuck does that have to do with the movie? Mel Gibson's father doesn't have shit to do with this movie! Mel Gibson is his own person and he shouldn't have to answer for what his father has said. It really pisses me off that some Jewish people are talking shit before having seen the film and using the director's father as proof that the film is anti-Semitic... FUCKING BULLSHIT. I have a friend and his Father killed his mother. So does this mean my friend can't get married and have a normal relationship? Is he destined to kill his wife as well just because his father was a murder? Fuck no, he is his own person. People need to get the fuck off of this, its wrong...
So did the movie make me want to go to Church? No. Did it make me think. Yes I'm still thinking about it. Did it make me want to kill some J-E-W-S. No. And what exactly is this movie? Some will say it’s a religious propaganda film. Some will say it’s an art film. Some will say it’s a gore movie. And some will say it’s enlightening. In my opinion its a little of all these things. But what was cool was that it wasn't one of those lame cheesy bible movies that you have seen before. Fuck that tame shit. The Bible is a violent book and its about time someone made a film based on the bible that reflects that. This is brutal and tragic. Go see it
