Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" is a powerful, beautifully and subtly produced film.
I approach the story with an open heart.
As a Jew, I do not experience the drama (the suffering) of the passion. as one of redemption from death. However, I identify with the many sensitive young Jewish men who struggled to find meaning for themselves, their families, their friends and their people during a period of intense oppression by a foreign power. Among them there seems to have been one whose teachings and presence were so compelling, that, even after his death, his followers continued to feel him immanent among them. There is room in my heart for each of them as as they were brutally tortured and murdered.
I also identify with the people of Jerusalem. These are my people, I am descended from them. I have a large chamber in my heart for them. When I see them depicted in unpleasant ways, it disturbs me deeply. I become passionate in their defense.
I have room in my heart for Mel Gibson, who, it seems, suffers from great pain. When I view Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" my heart is sorely pained. Many have written about the movie's anti-Semitic qualities. None of these commentators have mentioned the careful choices of inclusion made by the writer and director that I see:
- The Jewish people are always dressed in shades of black, brown and off-whites. They are never shown to be aware of other tones in the spectrum. This is the case even though the dress of the high priest is described in the Bible as being the blue color of the sky.
- Except for those in the circle of Jesus, they are unpleasant to look at.
- In the Gospel accounts Judas betrays his friend and teacher for thirty pieces of silver, in the film the Jewish authorities lob a sack of coins to Judas. We watch as the slow motion transfer of funds strengthens the classic association of Jews and money. The bag falls, the coins disperse and Judas salvages each coin from the ground, heightening the image even more.
- Judas is tormented by his demons because of what he has done to his friend and teacher. His demons are manifested as young Jewish boys who become transformed into devilish characters. Already, in at least one school in Georgia, an eleven year old Jewish boy has been called "Christ-Killer" and a fourteen year-old girl has been asked if Jewish children really have horns.
- The rooms that the Jews inhabit (except for those of Herod... but, about him later) are dark and closed to the light of day, even though, in contemporary accounts, the Temple in Jerusalem was known as one of the ancient world's glorious buildings, shimmering with white marble and gold.
- When many Jews appear together, they always act as a mob. We see toothless and distorted grins.
- Jewish guards seem to walk with a waddle, like overgrown, hairy, Munchkins in ill-fitting robes.
- Herod and his courtiers are presented as effete gay fools.
- The language the Jews speak (even when it comes from the mouth of Jesus) is always spat, or, croaked out of their mouths, as though to say: "How could anyone understand and appreciate this people in their primitive, guttural tongue?" Even Jesus' final words on the cross, quoting Psalm 22 emerge from his mouth almost unintelligibly unpleasant. He could have whispered them in a softly beseeching tone (as Johnny Mathis sang them in the early '60s).
Throughout the movie the Jewish people are depicted using the most limited and negative palette available. There is no nuance to their emotions, their speech, their appearance or their actions.
I find it hard to identify with the Roman authorities, who murdered thousands of young Jewish men -- similar to what the Gospel accounts report happened to Jesus -- as they enforced a Pax Romana in a small territory, on an ancient people, that did not accept their view of the world. Nonetheless, I have a small chamber in my heart for them as well. Most of those who carried out the orders of the Empire had little choice as to how they would act. Nonetheless, even though their acts are brutal, the film depicts them as multifaceted human beings.
- The Romans dress in whites and reds and greens, in addition to the standard browns.
- When the Romans speak, the vowels of their Latin, even when they give orders, are invitingly round and open.
- Nowhere in the film is there any depiction of Roman idols which were placed all around Jerusalem, even though the Romans knew these were anathema to the Jews. The Roman eagle does not even appear in Pilate's fortress.
- The rooms that the Romans inhabit are open, airy and suffused with light that shines through white gauzy fabric.
- The Romans, while carrying out brutal tortures are given moments when they consider what they do. Their faces clearly show puzzlement, if not anguish.
The stark contrast between these carefully crafted depictions forms the ground from which grow viewers' understandings of the deeper meanings of the characters and the story.
I search for a consolation, but, it is hard to find.