I saw The Passion Of The Christ last week. It wasn't the number one choice on my list, but the other movie started before we arrived. I had intended to go see it, but not right away. Well, I was surprised how good it was. Even thought it was subtitled, which is something I despise, the dialogue was spread out so it was easy to follow. From a religious perspective, it followed along the story most people know, with a few extras tossed in for effect. I don't think the extras ruined anything for me, and it certainly spiced up the presentation. From a moviegoer's perspective, it was visually appealing, even though the blood and gore factor was high. And that's all I can say about the film itself. Whatever religion a person is, I think it's worth watching for the movie experience.
I can see why some people were concerned about anti-semitism problems stemming from the movie. My own perspective is that it was the corrupt leaders (politicians in my mind) that conspired to do him in, and the regular people were just as horrified as everyone else in the movie... Jewish, Roman or otherwise. I certainly didn't feel any hate towards the Jewish people or their leaders, I felt sad that a few bad apples in the leadership were pushing for something that many others didn't seem to want. Of course, my own background as a Catholic and Christian distorts my take on the movie, but my insanely odd views of religion (ie. religion is silly) and outlook on existence balances that out more or less. I won't jump on that rollercoaster right now.
A lot of the people in the theatre were crying and sobbing through parts of the movie. I was near tears myself. Even without any belief in Christianity, the simple brutality towards another human by the Roman soldiers was very moving. If the reality of the story was anything like the movie, which based on historical data of the time (non-biblical, just general history or the era) seems to be fairly accurate, then I am dismayed at the living conditions faced by people in that time. Yuck is all I can say, yuck.
Enough yammering. I liked the movie, it was thought provoking. See it and judge for yourself. The end.
