The Passion of the Christ

An amazing, sobering look at the final hours of Christ. Mel Gibson succeeds in bringing us with Christ as he faces those horrendous hours of pain and suffering. I found the audience and I to be in step with every single exasperating breath that Christ takes. It was hard to watch, and yet, it was something that hits at your spiritual core with the ferocity of those Roman soldiers delivering the scourging of Christ. This was a very moving film, on many levels.

For me, it wasn't about the "intellectual/scholarly" aspect of the film's subject that was of interest to me. It was the unflinching flood of emotion and empathy that gripped me by the throat for almost 2 hours and gave up its hold slowly as Christ found release in his final moments on earth and whose spirit moves believers on a daily basis to live the good life, to be good to all, to embrace life everlasting.

Jim Caviezel pulls off the performance of his life, relying on his body language to fully immerse himself into the role of Christ and all that he suffered and all that he gave freely to any and all who would listen to him at the ultimate cost to himself.

It's been quite a while since I spent the last hour of any film with tears welling up in my eyes as I was immersed in these final hours of Christ, agonizingly each step of the way. In trying to stave off outright sobbing, my breathing had to become more labored and controlled, else I might have lost it.

Words fail me as I exited from the theater. I was on auto-pilot driving home as scenes played through my head, my heart. Chills continued to go through my body several hours afterwards.

I give it 4 stars, or a grade of A. But it seems silly to even "score" this film because it was more of a moving experience that left me with an indelible mark on the inside.