Christ film stirs up Irish passions

CINEMAS are expected to be booked solid for screenings of Mel Gibson’s controversial The Passion of the Christ when it opens in Ireland on Friday.

The film has been the subject of intense international debate in recent weeks, with many critics claiming that it is excessively violent and anti-Semitic.

But the somewhat negative hype is not turning Irish audiences off the idea of seeing the movie, which recreates the final 12 hours of the life of Christ.