TORONTO (CP) - Several prominent members of the Canadian
Jewish community got their first look at Mel Gibson's controversial film
The Passion of the Christ on Monday, but opinion on whether the work is
anti-Semitic remains divided.
"I think it's a thousand times worse than what I
anticipated... in terms of depicting the Jewish community in an evil
manner," said Frank Dimant, executive vice-president of B'nai Brith
Canada.
Although Dimant was reluctant to make specific criticisms
in advance of the film's theatrical release, he wasn't impressed by its
violent imagery and its treatment of Jews.
The film, which opens in 138 Canadian theatres on
Wednesday, has been hailed by numerous Christian leaders as a powerful
telling of the last hours of Jesus Christ and not at all anti-Semitic.
At issue is the blame placed on the Jews for the
crucifixion of Christ, a belief which formed the basis of two millennia of
persecution in Europe. That teaching was renounced by the Roman Catholic
Church in the 1960s.
Further adding to the controversy are questions
surrounding Gibson's faith - he adheres to a strict interpretation of
Catholicism that predates the reforms of 40 years ago.
"When one wants to call something anti-Semitic there has
to be there an intent to attack," said Manuel Prutschi, national executive
director of Canadian Jewish Congress.
"The purpose of this film is to move Christians, not to
attack Jews," said Prutschi, who attended the same Monday screening as
Dimant. How Christians digest the information presented is key.
"We feel fairly confident that Christians, certainly in
Canada, are quite sophisticated now to understand what anti-Semitism is
all about and the evil that it is.
"That's not what they're going to be coming away with."
The message imparted to moviegoers is of concern to Adele
Reinhartz, dean of graduate studies at Wilfrid Laurier University in
Waterloo, Ont.
"It's not intended to make people hate Jews," said
Reinhartz, who saw the film last week. "But I think if you go in there
with preconceived negative notions about Jews, if you already have a
latent anti-Semitism, then it will just reinforce that."
Having done her PhD dissertation on the Gospel of John,
Reinhartz was keenly aware of the source material from which director
Gibson was drawing.
"All the Gospels, to a greater or lesser extent do place
moral responsibility on the Jews."
But scenes in which Jewish children transform into demons
and Satan walks among the Jewish crowds as they clamour for Jesus's death
were "over the top," said Reinhartz. "Gibson didn't have to do that" to
tell the story of the crucifixion.
The film also presents a very narrow depiction of the
Jewish community, said Prutschi.
"Basically you have two types of Jews, the priestly class
and the Jews who were following Jesus," he said. "You certainly don't get
a picture of the broad Jewish community."
Father Thomas Rosica, who believes Gibson's film should
serve as a springboard for bringing Jews and Christians closer together,
attended Monday's viewing alongside Prutschi.
"It's not anti-Semitic, it's not anti-Jewish. It's a film
for adults that invites adult reflection," said Rosica, a member of the
Canadian Christian Jewish Consultation. "It takes the dialogue to a deeper
level. It's an invitation to Christian pastors and Jewish leaders to talk
about these things with their congregations."
To that end, Rosica will address the congregation of
Toronto's Temple Beth Tzedek on the passion during Friday's Sabbath
service.
Although the controversy surrounding the film seems
exceptional, Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ stirred a
comparable emotional response when released in 1988.
In an attempt to sketch a more human saviour, Jesus is
shown making crosses to aid the Romans in their crucifixion of the Jews,
questioning whether his other worldly instructions are coming from God or
Satan, imagining a life with a wife and child, and making love.
Christian groups were in arms, and a great deal of ink was
spilled by journalists tracking the controversy.
