DVD Review: The Passion of the Christ

There are not many blockbusters that you first hear about in Church, but it was during a service at our local church that I first heard about this film (Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ) when it was released in the cinema. It’s been some time since it was on at the cinema and the DVD has been out some time, but as we are now at Easter I thought it’s an appropriate time to watch it again and write a review.

This is only the second time I have watched the film so far. If you’ve seen the film then you may understand why this is. The film is very hard to watch. Not only is it all in Hebrew with English subtitles, but it’s also a very disturbing film. It’s rated 18, and it’s easy to see why. I’m guessing that if it wasn’t for the context of the film it may not even have been released at all.
It’s quite disturbing to watch the film, and is the only film I can remember where I actually turned away from the TV as I didn’t want to keep watching the torture that was being shown. Normally this would have been enough for me to turn it off and not watch it again, but because of the story I kept watching. As a portrayal of the bible story I believe that the violence in the film is justified and it would have been an injustice to have done it any other way (but that still doesn’t make it much easier to stomach).

The film is based around the events leading up-to and including the Crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. It briefly includes the resurrection, but does not cover any of the events prior to the last supper. Those expecting to see Christ performing miracles or any of the rest of his life will be disappointed. There is a very brief clip showing Palm Sunday, but the rest is pretty much from his betrayal by Judas, to the Crucifixion and Resurrection.

Depending on your beliefs this could represent one of the most significant events in the history of the world, or you may think that this is just a story. Either way the film puts across a very powerful story and is well worth watching.

The violence makes this film really hard to watch, but it is a great film.