TALK ABOUT MOVIES

2004 Talk About Movies
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Contents © 2004
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.

TALK ABOUT MOVIES
April 2004

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Directed by Mel Gibson. Starring James Caviezel, Maia Morgenstern. Color, USA, Aramaic/Latin, 127 minutes. In theaters,

Ernie: The men doing the abusing of Christ were portrayed as brutal to the point of insanity, which I thought detracted from the point that we all killed Christ by our sins.

Matthew: It soothes the conscience when it shouldn't -- "I'm not a gibbering madman." But sin is not just for madmen; it's a weakness in people of good will.

* * *

Ernie: I liked his silent smile before the Last Supper. It befit the moment -- the founding of the Church. But he seemed to be grinning when he spoke. I found that distracting.

Matthew: When what he's saying is sort of solemn and mind-blowing -- "This is the cup of my blood." Those moments were not necessarily tender -- they were revolutionary.

Ernie: Right. He's sending them to martyrdom.

* * *

Matthew: You get a real sense of Mary as the new Eve.

Ernie: All the disciples call her "Mother."

Matthew: It gave resonance to the formal declaration, "Woman, behold your son."

* * *

Matthew: When he stands up after the lashing, was it a kind of defiance? Is he saying, "Look, I'm not broken yet"?

Ernie: No. Satan had tempted him in the beginning -- "No man can take on the sins of all men." I think he stands because he's got to take it all.

Matthew: He's saying, "If there's more, I'll take it."