A Jew's View on The Passion

okay. I broke down to see Mel Gibson's movie. I didn't really want to, but I felt that I didn't have any right to say a word about it unless I had seen it.

My reaction: there isn't anything good about this film.

First: the aramaic was atrocious! first of all, mel, people never spoke that slowly. It was painful to listen to. seriously, the aramaic was spoken so slowly I actually understood nearly every word. Listening to the dialogue reminded me of watching bad overacting by bad actors trying to do shakespeare.

second: pronunciation of the aramaic was inconsistent and (according to my dear spouse) annoying to listen to. okay, mel, I commend the effort, but next time hire an expert to train your actors how to speak properly.

for what it is worth, the latin was at least listenable and sounded natural.

third: the blood was gratuitous. too much blood. sure, the crucifixion was bloody and gross, but at least 10x the amount of blood in one person's body was splashed across the screen. it was totally unrealistic and didn't make the movie any better.

fourth: not enough effort was made to show the political tension between the corrupt priests in the temple at that time and the good priests and other jews that didn't want this to happen. There was only one priest that spoke in Jesus' defense, and his 2 second argument was sandwiched between beatings, and unfortunately the most important message was lost: only the high priest wanted this, not everyone else.

fifth: pilot was not a compassionate guy. this is my primary complaint. in every scene, it is as if you see pilot as this nice guy being forced into doing something he doesn't want to do -- mel makes this point plain by showing the pain on his face.

Reality check: pilot crucified jews daily during his time. not just murderers like barabas. he liked doing it, and thousands of jews died that way. It is a serious shame that people forget this.

A note on anti-semitism: it is subtle, but it is there. firstly, if you were anti-semitic going into this movie, you will be more so coming out. however, if you weren't anti-semitic going in, it is doubtful you would come out hating the jews (because you probably have a brain and can think for yourself).

BUT -- (this is the scary part) if you don't know anything about jews or the jewish faith, you might get the impression 1) jews are all hook nosed; 2) jews all have pointy yellow teeth; 3) jews look an awful lot like satan (only a lot hairier); 4) jews don't think for themselves and only mimic what their priests say; 5) all the jews were against jesus; and 6) (and least importantly) jews eat fluffy pita bread during passover.

lastly, I thought that Mel agreed to cut out the part where the priest says that Jesus' blood is on the jews for eternity -- BUT HE DIDN'T!!! It is still there in Aramaic, only he cut out the subtitle.

Conclusion: About the lamest attempt at telling a bible story ever.