Christ film stirs up Irish passions
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.
A number of cinemas around the country have reported record pre-bookings from individuals, schools and church groups.
One Dublin priest is believed to have booked out a local theatre for next Sunday and has invited members of the parish to come along and view the film.
The Mother and Child Campaign, an anti-abortion group run by Justin Barrett, has block-booked screenings and is giving out free tickets through its website.
Youth 2000 Ireland, a spiritual movement of young Christians, is encouraging parish priests to get their parishioners into cinemas to see the movie, one of the most talked-about for a number of years.
Despite its critics’ objections on a number of issues, The Passion of The Christ has been given a 15 PG rating in Ireland.
All the controversy has helped make it a big hit at the box offices globally so far, with over $140 million (€113 million) already taken from audiences in the United States.
All of this has led to unprecedented demand for copies for Irish picture houses, according to the distributors here.
Eclipse Pictures has brought in 70 prints of the film to put on the reels in the country’s cinemas.
Many cinemas are expected to run special screenings on Good Friday, April 9.
Australian-born Mel Gibson directed and co-wrote the film, which runs just over two hours long. James Caviezel plays the part of Jesus and was left with scars on his back after being accidentally whipped twice during filming.
The entire dialogue is subtitled, with Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew spoken throughout the movie by the cast.
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