• To see how well The Passion is really doing, click on over to Box Office Mojo

• World Magazine, with whom I’ve recently become intrigued, on the topic of The Passion, refers to what Flannery O’Conner said to Christian artists namely that you “have to make your vision apparent by shock”.
• The Raving Atheist, who brings me regular feelings of joy and assuredness about the existence of God, offers up his unusual critique of The Passion. He often loves to revel in the fact that he can disapprove of “fundies” and “god-idiots” just like his fellow liberals, be it for a different reason. He plays that drum quite often actually; I’d call it his hallmark. The atheist who really doesn’t agree with anyone.
• Christopher at Against the Grain, rounds up the catholic blog opinions quite nicely. Go here for links to opinions from the Catholic Blogoshpere.
• Joshua Clayborn, the very conservative I.U. Graduate, was moved greatly. He later gives us a list of interesting positive reviews.
• Let’s not forget about rottentomatoes and their summation of all the mainstream opinions on the matter. The verdict: Rotten.

Memri: Videos

I really wish we had Islamic television in the U.S. I’m missing such wonderful family programs such as:

Program on Imposing Discipline in the Family: Hosted by Jasem Muhammad Al-Mutawah, Expert on Family Matters

They really put the hammer to the nail when they make sure that husbands correctly interpret the Koran. If your wife is disobedient, don’t just advise her, banish her, and beat her all at once. Those are the steps!!! You’re obviously supposed to do one after the other until she learns.

We all know that Allah has given authority to the man, including admonishing and guiding the wife in cases of disobedience, banishing her from the bed, and then – the beatings. What is your opinion on the matter?…

When Jesus is taken down from the cross, and placed in the arms of his mother, the camera pulls away from a close up of the lifeless battered face of Jesus. The wind blows around them, whipping their clothing across their faces as Mary, John the apostle, Mary Magdalene, and a Roman centurion sit motionless for a full thirty seconds. They’re still for so long, silent and motionless for so long you suddenly realize it; and it’s startling. Never before have I seen a shot in a movie that evoked such a high amount of emotion without motion. And when the closing credits finally began, I head a small peal of clapter attempt to break out in the back right corner of the theatre. It was pointless. The crowd itself had become like Michelangelo’s “la pieatas”, frozen, unable to move.

As far as movies about Jesus are concerned, it was most original. Scenes from the last twelve hours of Jesus’ life were juxtaposed with brilliant parallels from his three year ministry. When Jesus falls after being beaten with the flagellum, he sees, out of the corner of his eye, the blood covered sandal of his Roman torturer. Immediately, we’re shown a flashback of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. When Jesus looks up the long road to the hill of Golgotha, we’re given a glimpse of the sermon on the mount. I don’t want to ruin all of the parallels shown, but just know that the parallels between his life and his death are quite ingenious.

I’m not a great reviewer of movies by any stretch of the imagination. But by all my laymen standards, this movie was of a type that I’ve never before seen. That is, it was a religious film of high quality, depth, and emotion, written not from the voice of someone trying looking through a lens from the outside, but an actual expression of that person’s faith.

Many of it’s detractors have claimed that it’s merely “Gibson’s version” of the narrative. They miss the point; it is intimately Gibson’s vision. It is ultimately the vision of one man making a film about a narrative so widespread, everyone has a vision of what it should be or should have been; believer and non-believer alike. Whereas Coppola was merely exploring a theme involving the topic of Jesus’ life and crucifixion, Gibson was bearing his own heart.

The funny thing I noticed about the mix bag of reviews at the site Rotten Tomatoes is that the movie was either praised as a masterpiece, or as a failure. There was no in between. The reaction to Christ himself was much the same. We are either repulsed by him, or fall down in the dirt and worship his beauty.

The acting, the cinematography, the score were all top notch…..
I’m really tired right now and am in need of sleep but I do want to write more about the film. I’ll fill in my “review” later.

I’ll be seeing the Passion of the Christ tomorrow at 7:30. I’ll be sure to blog it as soon as I get home. Stay tuned if you’re interested. Thanks to Dan and Jennifer Giroux of the Catholic Shop for offering the whole deal.

ROEPER: ”With ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ I know there’ll be protest groups in front of the theater. I hope they at least go into the theater and see the movie first, and then decide if they want to protest the actual film.”

EBERT: ”I think the controversy was very premature and was based on people that hadn’t seen the film, and who are going to be a little surprised at what’s actually in the film.”

Satans’ on the ropes!