Controversy ample in biblical tale

'Passion' graphic, poignant portrayal of Christ's finale

If just waking up from a coma, one may wonder what the big fuss is about regarding "The Passion of The Christ," the latest in a long line of movies about the life and death (and in some cases, resurrection) of Jesus. For many people, however, the film has been a hot-button topic since its inception more than a year ago.

It was almost impossible to sit through an hour of television and not hear about the latest controversies surrounding Mel Gibson's ("Braveheart") film about the final 12 hours in the life of Jesus, played by James Caviezel ("The Count of Monte Cristo").

Bottom line, it's a well-made — if not slightly sadistic — vision of Jesus' torture and crucifixion.

As befitting a film of this nature, blood is everywhere. It spouts, gouts, spits and splatters, staining the cobblestone floors of torture arenas and falling in thin streams and fat drops. This is not a film about the teachings of Jesus, but about the torture and slaughtering of Jesus.

Devout Christians may call this a film a depiction of his sacrifice. Those without any spiritual investment will call it a religious snuff film — the last 20 minutes of "Braveheart" as a feature presentation. Regardless, there is no denying the brutality of this film with the way Gibson's camera lingers on the visceral punishment to Jesus' body the way it lingers on the rotting carcass of a donkey lying under Judas' hanging corpse.

The film begins in media res in the blue-hued and mist-cloaked garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus undergoes what the Rolling Stones would call "his moment of doubt and pain" before quickly being captured by the Pharisees, who beat him, wrap him in chains and throw him off a bridge.

Such an assault is only the beginning in what is a nearly continuous stream of cruelty that includes the scourging of Jesus with switches and whips studded with broken glass, and culminates in the crucifixion on Mount Golgotha. Barely a minute is dedicated to his resurrection; it seems "The Passion of The Christ" would rather concentrate on violent endings rather than hopeful beginnings.

Perhaps the one flaw in "The Passion of The Christ" is that for secular viewers such lingering punishment is rooted in nothing. For outsiders, there is no firm understanding of what exactly Jesus did to deserve such punishment other than what the subtitles tell us (the film is spoken in Latin and Aramaic).

There are times when the film feels inclusive to only the faithful; iconic events like the Last Supper and the Sermon on the Mount are footnoted to brief, but beautiful, flashbacks that pepper the constant violence like lulls in a roller coaster where people catch their breath before enduring more hairpin turns.

Even so, there is much here for general filmgoers to appreciate. Caleb Deschanel's ("The Patriot") cinematography, with its frequent allusions to biblical artwork, is something to behold; violence was never so beautifully captured as it is in this film.

While faithful to the source works of the Gospels, Gibson has taken some dramatic liberties with his film (remember, this is one man's interpretation of an historical event). Satan (Rosalinda Celentano, "The Order") appears as a cloaked and androgynous figure who floats among the gathered crowds like a recurring nightmare, and Judas' guilt takes the form of young children who chase him along the outskirts of Jerusalem, ushering him toward his eventual suicide.

There are times when the frequent use of slow motion can be both tedious, such as Judas' kiss of betrayal or captivating, such as the image of Jesus falling on the road to Calvary, his broken body bending over backwards as it falls into the sand.

The emphasis on the relationship between Jesus and his mother, Mary (Maia Morgenstern, "Nostradamus") was particularly pleasing. It adds a depth of humanity that everyone — not just the faithful — can be moved by. This is Mary as a mother who can do nothing but helplessly watch the slow death of her son.

Of course, there's the big question on everyone's lips — is this an anti-Semitic film? Well, I guess the answer is that "The Passion of The Christ" is as anti-Semitic a film as "Schindler's List" is an anti-German film. Yes, the Pharisees are given a villainous air as they yell and scream for crucifixion despite the indecision of Pontius Pilate, but I must have missed the signs hanging from their necks reading "We Represent All Jews."

In this film, there are Jews who hurt Jesus, but those who help him as well. Only the most irrational of individuals would blame modern-day Jews for Jesus' death, as they would watch genocidal Nazis and point their fingers at contemporary Germans. No film should have to censor itself to account for such a small, twisted focus group.

In the end, though, such false charges and negative publicity only will increase the curiosity in this film. And, it is a film that both the spiritual and the secular can appreciate on different levels. Barbaric and unrelenting as it may seem,"The Passion of the Christ" is a film that demands to be seen — if not for personal matters of faith, then at the very least to see what all the fuss is about.