the passion

i think keith merrill (director of the testaments) voiced my thoughts on the movie best...

"it was for me an uncommon experience that transcended most of what we have come to expect in the movie theater ..... it is graphic. it is intense. it is brilliantly crafted. it is enlightening. it is difficult to watch at times. it is something i would not want to miss. not everyone will be able to watch it. not everyone should. but for those who go prepared and abandon themselves to the experience, it can be remarkable. as a follower of christ, i am grateful that mel gibson gave so much to give me the experience of walking beside the savior in his final hours." (merrill's full review can be found here)

i absolutely loved this movie. kudos to mel gibson for risking so much in making this awesome film.

there is so much that i really liked about this movie. here are a few things....

the mother-son relationship between mary and jesus. this was easily my favorite aspect of the movie. throughout the whole film, there is an underlying theme of this strong bond of love that they share. this is wonderfully depicted in a beautiful flashback of mary making a meal as a youthful jesus finishes a table he is making. the both of them laugh and joke around with eachother. until i saw this movie, i never really thought of the pain that mary went through as she witnessed her son be tortured and crucified. at times, i found her anguish even harder to watch then the pain afflicted on the savior.
satan. from gethesemene to the end, satan is the real antagonist. he tries to push doubt on jesus in the garden, watches with glee as the savior suffers, and then in the end screams in defeat as he realizes he was a means to a glorious end.
gethsemene. this is where the movie begins. often christians look past the events in gethsemene and give no second thought to it. i think gibson portrayed it well. you could actually see th saviour sweating blood. it was not at all easy. he nearly passes out and falls to the ground in agony. well done.
christ's love. the crucifying was hard to watch. it was so real, but what made my eyes water up was when christ plead for his captor's forgiveness as they were nailing his feet to the cross. i thought to myself, "could i do that? could i forgive someone as they were inflicting such pain on me?" and even more than that, i love how gibson had the savior not only pleaing the forgiveness of the roman soldiers, but for the jewish leaders who condemned them. beautiful.
symbolism. there is so much more that i loved about this movie, but this is the last i'll comment on. gibson filled the movie with awesome and beautiful symbolism. jesus crushing the snake in gethsemene. the man who (at first) unwillingly helps carry the christ's cross and his words, "i will help, but know that i am innocent and this is the condemned man." his later carrying, not just the cross, but also jesus to calvary. the single drop of rain (which i read was supposed to be a tear from god). the torment of judas. the flashbacks to jesus's triumphant entry to jerusalem as he was spit upon and berated 5 days later. the flashbacks to mary running to help the fallen child jesus, as she rushes to her blood-soaked son. the movie was just incredible