The Passion Recut

[Kender]

If there was any doubt that Mel Gibson is a businessman, this removes it.

Now there will not only be The Passion of the Christ, but also The Passion Recut. According to an ad I saw in the newspaper, he's softened some of the most wrenching scenes so that his movie and the message of love can reach a wider audience.

thepassionrecut.com

[outgirl]

I still have no desire to see it but if I wanted to see it even a little bit this might help. Then again, if I wanted to see it I'd prolly want to see it as it was intended.

[Kender]

Personally, I think it was over hyped. I finally watched it on DVD this week. I have heard people say that it moved them to tears, that it deepened their appreciation for what Christ did for them, how they cried, yada yada yada.

For me, it wasn't like that. Maybe I've seen too many bloody movies. Maybe I was watching it with an analysts' eye, comparing it in my mind to the scriptures I've heard and read all my life.

I didn't find it antisemetic. I didn't find it particularly moving. I did not shed a tear. I think there are better movies about Christ's life. This one's claim to fame is that it is the most realistic, which pretty much amounts to the most brutal and the bloodiest. That's pretty much all it has going for it, in my opinion...besides the novelty of being entirely in what one assumes is aramaic. The whole thing is subtitled, so you don't have to worry about whether you're able to hear what they're saying or not. ;D

[maylily]

My major issues with the movie - the scourging, etc is pretty glossed over in the gospels. Compared to what led up to that time and what occurred afterwards, very little time is spent dealing with the actual event itself. And, what are perhaps the most important parts of the story - His teachings and His resurrection - are left out. Especially the resurrection. The crucifixion is not the be all and end all of the story...it was a means to an end. Christ rising from the dead.

My minister preached yesterday on the story of Christ raising Lazarus from the dead. Her main focus was from John 11:44. "Unbind him, and let him go." He told the crowd gathered to unbind him and let him go. And we should all "unbind them and let them go". Unbind people from our expectations of what they should weigh, who they should marry, how much they should exercise, who they should sleep with. By extension, when Christ was raised from the dead, no one unbound him from his burial cloths...God did that. God unbound Christ.

Forgive me. I've been thinking about it since church yesterday. Unbind them, and let them go."

But I digress...again. lol My objection to the movie is that it misses the entire point of the story.

[Kender]

maylily said:

My major issues with the movie - the scourging, etc is pretty glossed over in the gospels. Compared to what led up to that time and what occurred afterwards, very little time is spent dealing with the actual event itself. And, what are perhaps the most important parts of the story - His teachings and His resurrection - are left out. Especially the resurrection. The crucifixion is not the be all and end all of the story...it was a means to an end. Christ rising from the dead.

My minister preached yesterday on the story of Christ raising Lazarus from the dead. Her main focus was from John 11:44. "Unbind him, and let him go." He told the crowd gathered to unbind him and let him go. And we should all "unbind them and let them go". Unbind people from our expectations of what they should weigh, who they should marry, how much they should exercise, who they should sleep with. By extension, when Christ was raised from the dead, no one unbound him from his burial cloths...God did that. God unbound Christ.

Forgive me. I've been thinking about it since church yesterday. Unbind them, and let them go."

But I digress...again. lol My objection to the movie is that it misses the entire point of the story.

I know what you mean. That's why I think there are better movies out there about Christ. I think it's good that they showed the scourging, but I thought that scene was way too long, and ultimately the film is "Christ gets his butt kicked over and over again" with a few quotes from His ministry and Last Supper thrown in.

In the end, that's all I took from it. When Christ wasn't being beaten, He was looking like Rocky Balboa after one of his fights. Very little of Christ's message of love is present, but then, I'm sure that Mel Gibson is assuming that the audience is already familiar with everything that led up to the events in the movie.

[whatever]

I've always thought his use of so much violence was meant to show our soft nation how horrible and inhumane people can be to one another, just for religious differences. The brutality the world over; ours is a safe little place. We don't see it here, we watch tv and go to movies. People forget what it meant to be crucified, to be tortured. I think he was going for shock value, to wake people up to the pain of others.

Maybe. That's about all I get from it. Still have no desire to see it. I feel like I'm one of the "awake" ones, and don't need to be shocked. I've always found it horrific what they did to Jesus Christ...and so many OTHER people. Routinely. Back then, it was no big deal. It was entertaining to them. It's what we're moving to here. Reality tv, fearless fools doing stupid, dangerous things.

Could he fear the casual cruelty of those that have so little understanding? Casual cruelty. We take for granted Jesus on the cross. The likes of those unable to feel the pain of others, they would allow our nation to sink into barbarity. Like in those prisons in Iraq. Like in the prisons here.

Likely that's just what I take from it, without seeing it. Probably nothing to do at all with his motivations.

[outgirl]

Kender said:

Maybe I've seen too many bloody movies.

Maybe it's too much Grand Theft Auto?

[Kender]

outgirl said:

Maybe it's too much Grand Theft Auto?

;D