'The Passion of Christ': Lost in Translation?
Last Saturday, a Presbyterian spotted an ironically-arranged marquee outside the Orinda (California) Theater. The marquee listed its movies as
LOST IN TRANSLATION
IN AMERICA
How true. "The Passion of the Christ" is a story told "inside the family." Seattle Times movie critic Moira Macdonald says that Gibson made 'Passion' for a very specific audience, rejecting standard storytelling conventions such as introducing his characters, assuming his audience already knows everything he's about to tell us. Other reviewers note that the film wasn't made for everyone, isn't even understandable by everyone. And the message can get lost in translation.
The crucifixion of Jesus is a story - probably the story that belongs to the followers of Christ. I found the film gripping from start to finish and would recommend that teens and older see it to enrich our comprehension of the agony - and majesty - of the events surrounding Christ's crucifixion. In particular, the scourging scenes opened up for me an aspect of the crucifixion that I have always known was there, but somehow failed to visualize. Yes, it was brutal enough to kill him, and I'm not talking about the nailed-on-the-cross part. The beating, crowning, shoving, whipping, stumbling, cross-hauling extinguishing of Jesus is vividly brought to life, and my faith is the richer for this movie's gift for having brought that home to me.
Faithful Christians may wonder about some odd scenes that we will recognize as non-biblical, Gibson add-ins in most cases meant to help us interpret the unfolding events. Some are portrayed with a reverence so painstakingly detailed that one would think they are well-documented parts of the Bible story - such as the girl offering a cup of water to Jesus when he stumbles while carrying his cross. I would commend to readers Bible scholar Darrell Bock's Scene-by-Scene 'Passion' Reference Guide on Beliefnet.com, which lists Bible references for each scene's biblical allusions. It also helpfully highlights (in pink) those scenes not drawn from Scripture.
I have hopes that the clarity of this movie - its bold, Christ-centeredness delivered with excellent production to the world in a medium quite dominated by secular culture - will crack open many hardened hearts to reconsider Jesus. And just perhaps it will help us recover from our sanitized and domesticated view of Jesus and what he went through on our behalf.
Links listed:
- http://ae.mercurynews.com/entertainment/ui/mercurynews/theater.html?id=567
- http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2001864252_passion25.html
- http://www.beliefnet.com/story/141/story_14106_1.html
-- Dave Hackett
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