Stunning, staggering, powerful and beautiful

!MESSAGE MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! The "Passion of the Christ" is simply one of the outstanding films of our age. It transcends genre and re-defines what the motion picture can be. With beautiful cinematography, tour-de-force performances by the entire cast and top notch directing by Mel Gibson, "Passion" re-enacts the most important single moment in the history of mankind.

The film is staggeringly powerful with heart rending scenes of extreme human suffering. I do not recommend this film to anyone under around 18 years of age or at least some life experience. To a practicing Roman Catholic like myself it is at once one of the most painful and introspective experiences I've had at a movie theater and one of the most loving and celebratory experiences. The predominant emotion at the end of the picture is extreme gratitude: The feeling of being unconditionally loved. Leaving the theater, I was WORN OUT emotionally.

I will now address the issue of violence and Anti-Semitism because it seems to be unfairly tainting reviews nationwide. The film is extremely explicit in it's portrayal of the suffering of Christ, HOWEVER... to any Catholic who has been through Benediction, the stations of the Cross, or the Gospel reading on Palm Sunday or Good Friday it is nothing new or shocking. Gore, wanton destruction and random brutal violence is commonplace in many movies.

In fact, it is celebrated (somewhat artfully) in the films of directors such as Sam Peckinpah and Quentin Tarantino.

I guess what bothers people the most about violence in this film is that it's on their behalf. There is no innocent party here. This is no formulaic hollywood construct or trendy faux-art film where the intended viewer can sit smugly self- assured and safe, in spiritual "third person" sense, judging the film solely on aesthetic merits.

Even in some of the most violent great films of our day: "Saving Private Ryan", "Schindler's List" and "Braveheart", we watch everything through a historical lens. We are separated from the action by history, culture, or political climate.

Ironically, here we have a film without a word of english, in a completely foreign culture, about the events in a far land that happened almost 2000 years ago and the violence strikes to our very hearts and souls! Astounding. Bravo, Mr. Gibson.

The intened audience of this film believes that Jesus was tormented by and for OUR sins and that is what sticks in people's collective craw. Chalk it up to today's unaccountable society.

The issue of Anti-Semitism is more difficult. Dennis Prager, a man who I respect highly, said that Jews and Christians are seeing two different films here. Many complain that Mel Gibson overemphasized the Jewish leaders role in the death of Christ.

It is historical fact that the Jewish religious leaders feared the teachings of Jesus, clearly they saw him as not only a threat to their control but a blasphemer. Simultaneously, some of these same leaders saw him as a potential spark which could set off the tinderbox that was Jerusalem at the time. Any violent insurgence would have been met with swift and deadly response from superior Roman forces, so the element of self-preservation entered into the equation. Thirdly, there were a few truly rebellious radicals amongst the Jews who wished to overthrow Roman rule and fight for their freedom. The teachings of Jesus bothered this element also, because he preached things like "Love thine enemy" and non-violence. With all of these forces within the Jewish community conspiring against Jesus it is truly a miracle he lasted as long as he did.

It is clear from the scripture and historical documents that Pontius Pilate at least tried to give Jesus the benefit of the doubt, it was the insistence of the Jewish leaders that led to the brutal flogging and crucifixion of Jesus. It was extremely rare that prisoners were both flogged AND crucified.

Whether the specific individuals in the Jewish religious leadership were culpable for the death of Jesus is without question. Simultaneously, it is an extremely irrational and decidedly non-Christian attitude to blame an entire people or race for the act or acts of any specific group of individuals.

We must also realize that an Anti-Semite won't be swayed from his ignorant beliefs because he sees a movie. Conversely, a rational intelligent person won't become an Anti-Semite because he sees a movie. Let's take a little more accountability for our own actions, habits and attitudes instead of blaming a piece of celluloid, people.