Melanie and I went to see The Passion again last night, an appropriate activity, I think, for Good Friday. We went to the late, after 10, showing, because we had gone to the Stations of the Cross earlier, and the theater was still full. As others have said, the movie retains its emotional impact on the second viewing, and I had tears on my face at the end again. It was also possible to pick out new details I had missed the first time.
Ugh, our previews were awful. They even played a commercial for a new video game called “Resident Evil”. Could anything be more targeted at the wrong audience?
As for Caviezel, I did hear that he’s starring in the movie about Bobby Jones, the famous golfer.
And I think the dove was indeed the Holy Spirit. It did seem a bit incongruous. Why that moment? What was the signifance of the scene?
I took the donkey scene as that this was the donkey that Jesus rode in on, 1 week prior, and represented the death of all the hopes and dreams on Palm Sunday of a conquering hero King.
The ulgy baby, the promise of ongoing evil, taunting Jesus, that although he dies for all, evil will still flurish.
The dove is the Holy Spirit, there as Jesus is being condemed, “this is my beloved son, of who I am well pleased”
To me, the donkey represents to Judas his enslavement to Satan and sin, a bondage that ultimately leads death both spiritual and mortal. Man and metaphor combine: Judas takes the donkey’s bonds—and death—on himself.
I am familiar with the official meaning as fiery celt posted. But perhaps we may still be permitted allegorical interpretations? On second viewing, the “demon baby” looks rather like either one of Jesus’ bald, grinning torturers. I would interpret it as saying the violence against Jesus was more than just human in origin, that in scourging Him the Roman torturers were in a sense children of Satan. John 8 comes to mind. Excerpts:
“… yet you seek to kill me (…) you do what you have heard from you father. (…) You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning …”
Since people are talking about the more horrific elements of the movie, I think it is worth pointing out a couple of reviews: Thomas Hibbs’ The Horror & The Passion and the Esplatter review he links to. You may think a review by a horror movie site would be offensive, but this review is remarkably insightful. There is an interesting relationship between Christianity and the horror genre.
If you would like to see TPOTC without “Trailers” in MA, I believe the Lawrence Showcase shows it without them. This means you must show up early…
The problem with the trailers for TPOTC is that the movie has a R RATING, and such, the trailers shown before the movie are geared to audiences that frequent R Rated movies.
I saw TPOTC the 1st time in Lawrence without trailers, and the second time in Methuen. I was truly shocked by the trailers. Theater owners don’t get it. This is an audience, which predominately, would never go see an R Rated movie if it weren’t a Jesus flick done by a devout follower of Christ.
How many people will ditch The Loop (and like minded cineplexes) in favor of Lawrence (and other sensitive theatres) for the poor taste they showed in choosing trailers.