"The Passion of the Christ" is a film directed by Mel Gibson that was written by Gibson and Benedict Fitzgerald. This film, which was first released on Ash Wednesday, has already caused an enormous amount of controversy and disagreement. Gibson has ironically titled this film. It reflects the movie and also the response that the movie has received with the simple word "passion". He holds nothing back with this drama. It is one of the most violent movies ever to be released or given an "R" rating, and this is one of the causes of all the controversy.
Roger Ebert feels that this is the most violent film he has ever seen (Ebert). Many say that it is too harsh and gory for this rating while others just feel that it is not suitable for younger children. Some are saying that the only reason this received an "R" rating is the nature of its content. David Ansen from Newsweek felt that "the relentless gore is self defeating. Instead of being moved by Christ's suffering or awed by his sacrifice, I felt abused by a filmmaker's intent on punishing an audience, for who knows what sins." (Ebert).
I feel that the details of the death and torture of Jesus is very graphic, however, the film would be ineffective without this severity. Rated R means that one must be eighteen or older unless accompanied by a guardian. This is for a reason because young children or even preteens should not be allowed to see this without their parents. Gibson wanted to make it clear to the audience what horror and pain Jesus went through and the price that he paid for our sins. I believe he succeeded in bringing this aspect to the viewer. However, one that is not familiar with the theology behind the movie could find the movie to be severely offensive due to its violence.
Another topic of disagreement is that many Jews feel that it brings a destructive representation of them. They are concerned that the Christians will feel that the Jewish people were the ones that killed Jesus.