Passion of the Christ film review

Passion of the Christ is a 2004 biblical drama film co-written by Benedict Fitzgerald and Mel Gibson, who also directed the film. Starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as the Virgin Mary, Monica Bellucci as Mary Magdalene, Christo Jivkov as John, Francesco De Vito as Peter, Luca Lionello as Judas Iscariot, Hristo Naumov Shopov as Pontius Pilate, just to name a few of the large cast.

The film was well received by most, but anti Catholic and Christian bigotry did dog the film and still does. The film won several awards and was also won a number of nominations including 3 academy award nominations, best cinematography, best makeup, best original score. The films budget was a surprisingly low 30 million dollars, whilst the box office take was a huge 612 million dollars.

This film is incredible in so many ways, the writing, shooting, set designs and other artistic choices are amazing. In everyway the film was fantastically made, no one can fault the film for these choices. The film really immerses you in the story it tells, you are emotionally connected to all the characters. The choice to use Hebrew, Latin, and reconstructed Aramaic was a great choice and suits the emotional tempo of the film.

The film does contain many acts of violence, however, they are important to the story and unlike other films which usually use violence for thrills or to shock, here it is a fundamental part of the story and without it the story is undermined. It could be considered insulting not to show the violence as this film is aimed at adults and as a faithful telling of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, though it is not a documentary.

I strongly recommend this film to all ages, though parents must decide if it is suitable for their own children of course. I think this film is not only a great film to watch, I also think it is a great aid to strengthening ones faith.