Power and faith in The Passion of the Christ

The Passion of the Christ

Director: Mel Gibson

Cast: Jim Caviezel, Maia Morgenstern, Monica Bellucci

Cert: 15.

Whatever the many controversies surrounding Mel Gibson's depiction of the last days of Jesus, he has made a film of overwhelming power and passion, the likes of which have never before been attempted on screen.

It is a violent, bloody and gory film, yet it is a film clearly made with such care that it should be seen by everyone (indeed, in spite of the lurid stories of protest and complaint about its content and it's supposed anti-Semetic theme, it is already one of the most successful films in recent Hollywood history). Gibson spares us nothing in what is not only a deeply moving story but one told in unsparingly graphic detail.

Caviezel, in the demanding central role, brings us a performance of great skill and makes much of what has always been a difficult - impossible - character to portray on screen. The playing of Christ has always been fraught with problems.

Gibson's film is an angry one, a demanding one which asks us many questions. Violent it most certainly is, but one of the world's great faiths has been built over the centuries on this very violence.

Gibson, thus, deserves his towering film to be a success, deserves it to be talked about and argued over, and deserves it to be understood as the greatest story ever told. He has brought us a masterpiece; however flawed you might find it.

Star Rating: 4/5