The Passion of the Christ

If I believed in life eternal with access to a heavenly multiplex I still wouldn't advise you to see this film, but, as things stand, if thou goest anywhere this week, be it to see an honest piece of graven imagery, not this religiose rubbish.

Extremely violent, and powerful; for mature teens.

If I were a Christian, I'd be appalled to have this primitive and pornographic bloodbath presume to speak for me.

A tormented movie about torment; loopy, over-reaching and occasionally suspicious. Simultaneously, it is a daring artistic endeavour.

A negative and spiritually underwhelming experience.

Sick.

While other films about Jesus of Nazareth opted to focus on his struggles as a man of faith, Gibson focuses on the intensity of what he was forced to endure. While Gibson touches on something profoundly nihilistic, it’s ultimately a vapid experience.

While the scenes we are witnessing are graphic and difficult to watch, there’s no denying the immersive experience that Passion brought to the screen. It’s as valid and visceral as any biblical story that’s ever been captured on film.

It is perhaps testament to the material that the film can be read both as a literal illustration of the story of Christ’s suffering at the hands of the Romans... an anti-authoritarian tract that questions the very assumptions of guilt and blame...

Gibson has made a strange experimental film that he offers as an act of faith, but which seems more like an act of directorial hubris.