The Passion
February 26th, 2004 | No Comments »
The Passion
Okay, so I went to see the film with a group from church today. I'm glad it was the 1600 showing, because any later and I am not sure I could have taken it. It did, literally, shake me. Some Good Friday services leave me the same way, where I don't really want to interact with people, but rather just go off and think. I had to stop at the store on the way home, and I even deliberately used the automated check out line. The thought of interacting–especially cheerfully, bubbly cashiers–was almost beyond consideration.
But I would not say that the film was depressing. Nor was it so horrific (as some feared) that I was disgusted. Rather, I think it was the fact that I had just experienced a very familiar story in a very new way, in a way no sermon, lesson, or liturgy ever has. And if any of those three ever come close to this, I will be really, really surprised.
It was worth going. I do recommend it. Highly. Very highly.
I will go see it again. One of the others in the group I was with said she couldn't ever go see it again. So I guess that depends on the viewer.
It is very graphic, I kid you not. The scene where Jesus is being flogged is almost too much. It might be for some people, but I was able to watch the whole thing. Someone else said she didn't think a person could survive such a beating, but I'm pretty sure they can, if only barely. And for the rest of the film Jesus was the way he was at the end of the flogging: Skin raw, missing in places, bleeding all over. It's an image that I imagine might be real close to what someone being beaten and then dragged around really looks like. The crown of thorns… Wow. I really wanted to throttle a Roman soldier or two, though you could see flashes of recognition in even them from time to time, like they knew something wasn't right.
The actual crucifixion was incredible, too. The camera did not turn away at the crucial moment. You do see the hand, the nail, everything. His face when the other nail goes in… Wow.
Okay, and then there were the two Marys. His mother, in particular, really got to me. There's a scene where she is watching him pass, carrying the cross. She can't go to him. Can barely even look. Then he falls, and she remembers a time when he fell as a child, and how she ran to comfort him. Then she runs to the fallen adult Jesus and lifts him. He says, "See, I bring new meaning to everything." Yep, the mother/son thing really tore me up. My mom and dad lost a son (my older brother). I hope I never know what it is like. Though I think looking into that actresses' eyes I have a new understanding. Wow.
The flashbacks in general were well timed, and (with apologies to the Seabury crowd) juxtaposed the crucifixion and other even from Jesus' life. That's why I will never look at the Eucharist in quite the same way. It was while the nails were going in and while he was hanging and dying that they flashed back to the Last Supper. It connected things in ways I'm sure I've connected them, but so much more powerfully. Again, wow.
I don't want to spoil it for anyone. I don't think I can, even if I talked about every minute. After all, you've all probably read this, heard it in church, and heard sermons about it. This isn't new material. I think I could have appreciated the film without subtitles. I knew exactly what was going to be said. It was that faithful to the gospels. Yes, there were things inserted that aren't in our canonical gospels. Yes, there were things pulled in from other biblical sources. But it was still, in my estimation, a darned good job.
Excellent cinematography, too, by the way.
Go see this film. There's so much more I haven't processed, or blogged here. Wow. Go see this film.