Bizzare Passion

[Ivo Skoric]

Ok. I watched the Passion. I was excited to see that I understood 
most of the dialogue in Latin without reading subtitles. Although my 
high school grades would not suggest such proficiency. It may be that 
the Latin dialogue was actually very simple, like: "go" or "you, 
idiot" or "king of jews" (rex iudeorum). Which should be consistent 
with who spoke Latin in the movie: uneducated brutes in the imperial 
army. Those who joined because it was an easy way out of poverty. As 
Romans in an occupied province they could overcome their inferiority 
complex by getting off on flogging local transgressors to death. 
Because that's what the film is really all about. And as it is in all 
Mel Gibson movies (regardless whether he is an actor, director, ot 
both) the torture is depicted with the most gruesome realism, and 
meticulous attention to the detail. The guy simply gets off on pain. 
"Braveheart" at least had some story besides the torture. "Passion" 
is all about torture. Main charcter (Jesus) is tortured from the very 
beginning (when we see him painfully worried - he tortures himself 
thinking about what is about to happen to him) to the very end of the 
film. So, if you are into whipping scenes, Passion offers some of the 
best shots in Hollywood history. What perplexes me, nevertheless, are 
the clean-cut people in nice clothes outside the theaters that are 
distributing fliers, cards, using the opportunity to proselitize and 
preach. They come in droves to see the film, dressed as if they are 
going to a mass. They come as families with children. And they would 
absolutely never allow their children to see such a movie under any 
other circumstances. No. They would fight to get that movie banned 
from the theaters for the blood and gore. But here this is allegedly 
the real story of Christ, so they are blinded by the purpose and do 
not see the actual graphic violence of the movie. Pain is at the root 
of faith. Love is a distant cousin, that faintly appears only in 
memories. And the message is devoured by the right as a gospel. I've 
heard there are groups that buy blocks of tickets to see the movie 
together. There is something uncanny spectacular with two guys 
literally panting exhausted from flaying a man, isn't it?

ivo