Priests normally are not, and yet the priests in 'The Passion of the Christ' show themselves as having their own bloodlust."
The Romans who abuse Jesus are prison guards and soldiers whose duty it is to inflict floggings and other cruel punishments. Romans who are viciously portrayed are in the business of being heartless, whereas that is not the case in society with priests. The Romans were merciless and criminal, but there was nothing likable in any of the Jews except Jesus and his close followers. It has a veneer of authenticity, but you can find things along the way, such as an artificial distinction between Jews and Romans, that contradict his assertion. Further viewings of the film confirm that Gibson uses many horror motifs, including the isolation in the garden, the eerie darkness, protruding eyes of children taunting Judas, the worm crawling from the devil's nose, and so forth.īut on this day, the plan was to stop the film for comments from Adlerstein and Gomez when scenes reflected anti-Semitism.īefore the private screening, Adlerstein said about the release of "The Passion of the Christ" in 2004: "The Jewish community probably overreacted at the time, and the reason for this was more than defensible because there were stirrings of a global resurgence of anti-Semitism, and events of the last 10 years unfortunately bear out those misgivings."Īdlerstein also said Gibson "packaged this as the only authentic film about the Passion. Right after Christmas, I had the opportunity to sit down with two friends, Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein, director of interfaith affairs at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, and Yvonne Gomez, a Christian research consultant, to watch "The Passion of the Christ."īack in 2004, I reviewed "The Passion of the Christ" as a horror film, and this upset many of my readers. 25 will mark the 10th anniversary of the release of Mel Gibson's hugely successful and controversial "The Passion of the Christ."
The sequel will focus on Christ's resurrection. Here's what we know about the upcoming project that Caviezal insists is "going to be the biggest film in world history.Actor Jim Caviezel portrays Jesus on the cross in a scene from "The Passion of the Christ." (CNS/Icon)įeb.
It looks like Caviezel could be returning to his most prominent role, however, as the actor confirmed in a September 2020 interview with Breitbart that a sequel to The Passion of the Christis, indeed, coming. His filmography includes such religious projects as Paul, Apostle of Christ and Onyx: Kings of the Grail.
He's made appearances on several TV shows and in several movies over the years, staying prominently in the world of religious entertainment. Directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel, it was accused of antisemitism, and even film critic Roger Ebert called it, " the most violent film I have ever seen."ĭespite starring in the lead role of Jesus Christ in a massively-grossing hit film, Jim Caviezel had trouble finding work in the years since The Passion of the Christ.
Similar to other R-rated films that gain mainstream appeal, however, the film wasn't without its controversies. The Passion of the Christ remains one of the highest-grossing R-rated movies of all time.