02/27/2004: ""The Passion" thoughts"

I won't call this a review, because so many have given their review of the movie, but I thought it was worth commenting on.

First the subtitling. I was surprised how little this bugged me. I'm usually someone who has no tolerance for foreign movies mostly because I don't like following the subtitles. But something about "The Passion" didn't give me that usual feel. I felt right at home. Maybe it was that I'm fairly well versed in the Gospels and could probably have still had a good experience wtih the movie without the subtitles.

The next thought is that it wasn't as violent as I was expecting. Sure it was violent, but I've seen my fair share of violent movies. I think the thing that made people so repulsed by the violence is that it was violence against Christ. There was only one scene that had me physically reacting.

I think it did an excellent job of portraying Mary. Hopefully this movie will help lessen the divide between Protestants and Catholics in regards to Mary. She was a beautiful, loving, wonderful mother throughout the whole movie and that is why Catholics keep her in our prayers so often, because of that example she is for us.

The one scene that sent me sobbing was the scene where Mary ran to help Christ as he was falling. They used a flashback to show Mary running for Jesus as a child and paralleled that to running to Jesus as he was faultering to carry the cross. It made me think of the profound love Mary had for her Son. I think we forget to love Christ that way all too often and if we can't love Christ that way, how can we love others that way? I felt humbled and ashamed and loved all at the same time. I needed a good cry for Christ!

All in all, this is a movie all Christians (of appropriate age) need to see. They need to see it not because they'll "enjoy" it or even because they'll be glad they did or think it was a good movie. But we all need to have a personal encounter with Christ's suffering and to have it vividly in our minds. This film will do that for most people. For those that walk away repulsed or unaffected, having seen it will give them the opportunity to discuss it with others, be in their minds when participating in stations of the cross, other religious reflections and group meetings. I believe that through those opportunities even those who are not profoundly affected by the movie initially, will have that opportunity to know Christ's suffering in a very personal fashion.