TWO BITS ON PASSION: A film I haven't seen, and will probably avoid--but I enjoyed these two bits.

From Calblog:

Here's the bottom line - There are two kinds of films. One kind of film generates emotions and connections to the characters though the skillful use of storytelling. The other kind of film relies on the audience to supply such emotions and connections on their own based on either a pre-supposed background knowledge of the subject matter or a pre-existing vested history with its characters before walking into the theater.

"The Passion" is the second kind of film. For those who already have a vested interest in Christianity, know why Jesus generated a following, believe in the Resurrection and the all of the implications that flow from it, then they will know doubt be moved by this film in a profound manner.

For those that don't fall into this category, however - the film will likely be seen as a mere two hour treatise on a guy being tortured. That's about it I'm afraid.

From David Edelstein's review, titled "Jesus H. Christ":

Gibson uses every weapon in his cinematic arsenal to drive home the agony of those last dozen hours. While his mother and Mary Magdalene watch, Jesus is lashed until his entire body is covered in bloody crisscrossing canals. When he rises, amazing the Roman soldiers with his stamina, they go for the scourges, which rip and puncture his flesh in slow motion—all while the Romans and the Jews cackle wildly. Carrying his cross, he falls again and again in slow motion on his swollen, battered body while the soundtrack reverberates with heavy, Dolby-ized thuds. It is almost a relief when the spikes are driven into his hands and feet—at least it means that his pain is almost over.

What does this protracted exercise in sadomasochism have to do with Christian faith? I'm asking; I don't know. Gibson's revenge movies end with payback—or, in Braveheart, the promise of payback to come. When Jesus is resurrected, his expression is hard, and, as he moves toward the entrance to his tomb, the camera lingers on a round hole in his hand that goes all the way through. Gibson's Jesus reminded me of the Terminator—he could be the Christianator—heading out into the world to spread the bloody news. Next stop: the Crusades.