Directed by Mel Gibson (Braveheart, The Man Without a Face)
Starring Jim Caviezel
It’s hard to look at Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” without comparing it to other films made on the life of Jesus. Christians have been looking for a good film on the life of Jesus for decades, and until now, everything has fallen short.
When I grew up in the 70’s, Jesus of Nazareth was on TV every year around Easter. Not a bad film. But in 1979 evangelicals eagerly anticipated something they hoped would be better: Campus Crusade’s “The Jesus Film.” I still remember going to see it as a kid, and wondering why Jesus’ hair didn’t get wet during the Baptism. (That was some wig!) The 80’s came around and most of us in youth ministry still used “The Jesus Film” simply because nothing better was available.
But then in 1993 Michael W. Smith released his new album “I 2 Eye,” which contained the song “Secret Ambition.” They made this into a power music video about the “secret ambition” of Jesus … “to give his life away.” At that point I either used that music video, or the clip from the 1959 Best Picture Ben Hur (winning 11 Academy Awards) where Jesus brings Ben Hur some water. (CLICK HERE FOR A DESCRIPTION OF THAT CLIP)
Why have so many of these movies fallen short?
I think a film on the life of Jesus must contain two elements: accuracy and good filming.
Funny, the secular world would think the first category, accuracy, isn’t really that important. “Artist’s interpretation” they would call it. Then they could label historical nonsense like Scorsese’s “The Last Temptation of Christ” art. This “stretching of the truth” is common in Hollywood. Just look at any Oliver Stone film (JFK, Nixon).
But movie-goers think good filming is important. They want a powerful story line, with good acting and direction. Not every person purchasing a ticket knows one director from another, but they do know the difference between what looks good and what looks cheesy.
“The Jesus Film” was an incredibly accurate account. It was directly from the book of Luke and Christian viewers didn’t have to cringe at the “director’s interpretation” of events during any part of the film. Yet, despite it’s accuracy, it was hard for the modern world to get past bad hair, Peter’s cheesy voice dubbing … not to mention an extremely white Jesus. (a blue eyed pale skinned Jew? That’s authentic!)
But this film isn’t alone. Other Christian films like “Left Behind” and “Extreme Days” have also EXCELLED in cheesiness factor—films with just plain ol’ bad film-making.
I almost did a back flip in excitement when I heard that Mel Gibson was going to be doing “The Passion of the Christ. I was mostly excited because I knew the movie would be filmed incredibly well. I just prayed that it would be accurate.
“The Passion” succeeded in both. People poured to the theatres to see the film from a director they trusted, and they weren’t disappointed. Word of mouth is powerful. People that spent 83 million at the box office on opening weekend must have told their friends and neighbors, because within one month, the film did 315 million.
I hope that Christians have learned a valuable lesson from “The Passion.” In the past, we've played it cheap when trying to get our foot in Hollywood's door. But since “The Passion,” the industry is sitting around scratching their heads, “I never knew there was such a market for Christian films? Christians have never attended them in the past.”
I wonder why?
Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
- What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
- How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
- How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
