the passion of the christ

i finally went out to see the movie on friday night. even in its second week and on a late friday night at fairview mall, the theatre was full.

first of all, it's a very beautiful artistic film. i appreciated mel gibson's vision in trying to retell the last twelve hours of Jesus' life. it's a very difficult thing to take such a sacred story, tell everything accurately and keep everyone pleased. i loved the flashback sequences 'cause, for example, i almost felt like i was there sharing the last supper with Jesus himself.

however, mixed in with the beauty, it is a pretty graphic and violent movie. i found parts of the movie very difficult to stomach. yes, the depiction of jesus' crucifixion might be what actually happened to Him and it's supposed to help us understand / sympathize the pain / suffering that He went through to save us. however, for me, it got to a point where it was a little too much and i was starting to feel a little sick / disturbed. for that reason, i was not as moved by the scenes as some others around me--there were many people in the theatre who were sobbing or bawling at the sight of jesus' ultimate sacrifice.

perhaps, my lack of emotion might also be attributed to reading all these varying reviews / opinions by various critics. instead of immersing myself in the film, i think i tried to be objective about my thoughts 'cause i wanted to see how people came to their own conclusions. maybe if i went to see this movie again, i'll have a totally different reaction to it.

i still concur that it's a movie that Christians will understand and appreciate a lot more. so if you're someone who doesn't know the whole background regarding Jesus' crucifixion, i would suggest reading up a little on it beforehand. that was one of the issues i had with the movie. it did very little in 'character development' and explaining the reason for Jesus' persecution. many of the references were done in passing. for example, there was really little explanation of who mary magdalene was and why she was following Jesus--other than a short flashback of her weeping and kissing Jesus' feet.

anyway, i would still recommend seeing this movie. is it worth all the controversy? make a judgement for yourself.