Well, I saw it and it's intense and powerful. I'll be honest, I am a
practicing Catholic, so I buy into the belief that Jesus is the Savior
of the World, Died for my sins, is God Incarnate, etc. It is a
beautifully made film. Some of the stuff with Satan does not work.
There are some historical inaccuracies but the film is a work of art
and not a documentary. Jim Caviezel who I loved in "The Thin Red
Line" (which is my favorite film of all time) made a great Jesus. He
is probably my favorite Jesus on film, though I loved Robert Powell
in "Jesus of Nazareth" (it's been so long since I've seen "The
Greatest Story Ever Told" that I can't remember what Max Von
Sydow's performance was like but I'm sure it was good). Is this
what Jesus really went through? Probably close to it. From a
Catholic point of view I like how the film showed that Grace exists
in a sinful and brutal world. I think the brutality was appropriate for
the film (though I would not show it to little kids). I think it is good
for people to know what Jesus went through no matter what they
believe about him. If he had not gone through what he went
through then there would be no Christianity. Some people would
say that is good, but there would have been no Francis of Assisi,
Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dietrich Bonhoffner, John
XXIII, or Oscar Romero. These people are all lights that shine in
darkness in which the darkness will never put out. (That's from
John Chapter 1). There would also be no great works of art like
Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel or some of the world's greatest
music the like Ave Maria (though that is about Jesus' mother) or
Amazing Grace. Probably the strongest point of the film is that it shows that
Jesus was a real person with a real personality. The flashback
scenes work really well. I would not have minded a few more
flashbacks actually. It showed that he loved everyone even though
there was a lot of hatred for him. As for anti-Semitism, I did not think it was. The Romans were
the real brutes. Caiphas and the other Temple priests were not
shown in a positive but they were not in the Gospels either. There
were Jews in the priesthood that did not like the way Jesus was
being treated and the same with the crowd some were bloodthirsty
and some were against it. One must remember that most people
living at that time were ignorant and illiterate. The priests told
them what to do. It would have been easy for Caiphas to entice the
crowds (assuming that is what really happened). Also there is
one scene where one of the Roman guards mocks Simon of
Cyrene because he's a Jew. The other thing that was really good is that it felt as though it
were real. It showed to the chaos of the whole Passion, basically.
Except for a few hoaky scenes involving Satan, the film is superb. 9/10.
practicing Catholic, so I buy into the belief that Jesus is the Savior
of the World, Died for my sins, is God Incarnate, etc. It is a
beautifully made film. Some of the stuff with Satan does not work.
There are some historical inaccuracies but the film is a work of art
and not a documentary. Jim Caviezel who I loved in "The Thin Red
Line" (which is my favorite film of all time) made a great Jesus. He
is probably my favorite Jesus on film, though I loved Robert Powell
in "Jesus of Nazareth" (it's been so long since I've seen "The
Greatest Story Ever Told" that I can't remember what Max Von
Sydow's performance was like but I'm sure it was good). Is this
what Jesus really went through? Probably close to it. From a
Catholic point of view I like how the film showed that Grace exists
in a sinful and brutal world. I think the brutality was appropriate for
the film (though I would not show it to little kids). I think it is good
for people to know what Jesus went through no matter what they
believe about him. If he had not gone through what he went
through then there would be no Christianity. Some people would
say that is good, but there would have been no Francis of Assisi,
Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dietrich Bonhoffner, John
XXIII, or Oscar Romero. These people are all lights that shine in
darkness in which the darkness will never put out. (That's from
John Chapter 1). There would also be no great works of art like
Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel or some of the world's greatest
music the like Ave Maria (though that is about Jesus' mother) or
Amazing Grace. Probably the strongest point of the film is that it shows that
Jesus was a real person with a real personality. The flashback
scenes work really well. I would not have minded a few more
flashbacks actually. It showed that he loved everyone even though
there was a lot of hatred for him. As for anti-Semitism, I did not think it was. The Romans were
the real brutes. Caiphas and the other Temple priests were not
shown in a positive but they were not in the Gospels either. There
were Jews in the priesthood that did not like the way Jesus was
being treated and the same with the crowd some were bloodthirsty
and some were against it. One must remember that most people
living at that time were ignorant and illiterate. The priests told
them what to do. It would have been easy for Caiphas to entice the
crowds (assuming that is what really happened). Also there is
one scene where one of the Roman guards mocks Simon of
Cyrene because he's a Jew. The other thing that was really good is that it felt as though it
were real. It showed to the chaos of the whole Passion, basically.
Except for a few hoaky scenes involving Satan, the film is superb. 9/10.