This
must be a very inspired movie; otherwise it would not get such persecution. Izzy
Mel Gibson's passion
for 'The Passion'
David Limbaugh (archive)
July 9, 2003
How ironic that when a movie producer takes artistic license with historical
events he is lionized as artistic, creative and brilliant, but when another
takes special care to be true to the real-life story, he is vilified.
Actor/producer Mel Gibson is discovering these truths the hard way as he is
having difficulty finding a United
States studio or distributor
for his
upcoming film, "The Passion," which depicts the last 12 hours of the
life of
Jesus Christ. Gibson co-wrote the script and financed, directed and produced
the movie.
For the script, he and his co-author relied on the New Testament Gospels of
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as well as the diaries of St. Anne Catherine
Emmerich (1774-1824) and Mary of Agreda's The City of God.
Gibson doesn't want this to be like other "sterilized religious epic(s).
I'm trying to access the story on a very personal level and trying to be
very real about it." So committed to realistically portraying what many
would consider the most important half-day in the history of the universe,
Gibson even shot the film in the Aramaic language of the period. In response
to objections that viewers will not be able to understand that language,
Gibson said, "Hopefully, I'll be able to transcend the language barriers
with my visual storytelling; if I fail, I fail, but at least it'll be a
monumental failure."
To further ensure the accuracy of the work, Gibson has enlisted the counsel
of pastors and theologians, and has received rave reviews. Don Hodel,
president of Focus on the Family, said, "I was very impressed. The movie
is
historically and theologically accurate." Ted Haggard, pastor of New Life
Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., and president of the National Evangelical
Association glowed, "It conveys, more accurately than any other film, who
Jesus was."
During the filming, Gibson, a devout Catholic, attended Mass every morning
because "we had to be squeaky clean just working on this." From
Gibson's
perspective, this movie is not about Mel Gibson. It's bigger than he is.
"I'm not a preacher, and I'm not a pastor," he said. "But I
really feel my
career was leading me to make this. The Holy Ghost was working through me on
this film, and I was just directing traffic. I hope the film has the power
to evangelize."
Even before the release of the movie, scheduled for March 2004, Gibson is
getting his wish. "Everyone who worked on this movie was changed. There
were
agnostics and Muslims on set converting to ChristianityS (and) people being
healed of diseases."
Gibson wants people to understand through the movie, if they don't already,
the incalculable influence Christ has had on the world. And he grasps that
Christ is controversial precisely because of Who He is -- God incarnate.
"And that's the point of my film really, to show all that turmoil around
him
politically and with religious leaders and the people, all because He is Who
He is."
Gibson is beginning to experience first hand just how controversial Christ
is. Critics have not only speciously challenged the movie's authenticity,
but have charged that it is disparaging to Jews, which Gibson vehemently
denies. "This is not a Christian versus Jewish thing. '(Jesus) came into
the
world, and it knew him not.' Looking at Christ's crucifixion, I look first
at my own culpability in that."
Jesuit Father William J. Fulco, who translated the script into Aramaic and
Latin, said he saw no hint of anti-Semitism in the movie. Fulco added, "I
would be aghast at any suggestion that Mel is anti-Semitic."
Nevertheless, certain groups and some in the mainstream press have been
very critical of Gibson�s "Passion." The New York Post�s Andrea Peyser
chided him, "There is still time, Mel, to tell the truth." Boston
Globe
columnist James Carroll denounced Gibson�s literal reading of the Biblical
accounts. "Even a faithful repetition of the Gospel stories of the death
of
Jesus can do damage exactly because those sacred texts themselves carry the
virus of Jew hatred," wrote Carroll. A group of Jewish and Christian
academics has issued an 18-page report slamming all aspects of the film,
including its undue emphasis on Christ�s passion rather than "a broader
vision." The report disapproves of the movie�s treatment of Christ�s
passion
as historical fact.
The moral is that if you want the popular culture to laud your work on
Christ, make sure it either depicts Him as a homosexual or as an everyday
sinner with no particular redeeming value (literally). In our anti-Christian
culture, the blasphemous "The Last Temptation of Christ" is
celebrated, and
"The Passion" is condemned. But if this movie continues to affect
people the
way it is now, no amount of cultural opposition will suppress its force and
its positive impact on lives everywhere. Mel Gibson is a model of faith and
courage.
