New Review of The Passion

[mayfly]

We saw the Passion last night, and I came away with two very clear impressions. The first one is that I can not believe how cruel people are to each other. The horrible things that we have done to each other, past and present. That people even think up these ways to torture others, for 1000's of years, it made me sick the way that we hurt each other.

The second impression was this. I had expected to leave the theater feeling a sense of guilt. Instead I felt a sense of relief. It became crystal clear to me that there was NO WAY I could ever 'make up' for what was done for me. All that can be done is to ask for his forgivness, and receive the forgiveness.

Did I like the movie? I don't think thats a word I would use. I am glad I saw it. The acting was exceptionally well done, it captured me, and really transported me to another world, which most movies fail to accomplish. The time flew by. I did close my eyes a few times, and was relieved that the director was sensitive to people needing an escape, because the sounds were dealable. It touched my heart, made me think, and I left with more hope.

[mayfly]

I forgot to say that we went with a bunch of friends, about 15 of us. Six of us were Christian, the rest were not. Afterward we all went out for dinner and talked. I could see for myself that the Passion is not a preachy movie, there were no converts that night . They had mixed feelings, mostly felt the way I did, that it was a great historical piece.

[freesurfer]

It's good to see you got a specific meaning from the movie instead of religious controversey. Maybe I will see it sooner then.

[Juliannaluv]

Thanks for the review, Mayfly. I would like to go see it also, but I am not sure if I want to go alone or with some friends. I am planning on going to see it before Easter

[Pipanella]

Originally Posted by mayfly

We saw the Passion last night, and I came away with two very clear impressions. The first one is that I can not believe how cruel people are to each other. The horrible things that we have done to each other, past and present. That people even think up these ways to torture others, for 1000's of years, it made me sick the way that we hurt each other.

The second impression was this. I had expected to leave the theater feeling a sense of guilt. Instead I felt a sense of relief. It became crystal clear to me that there was NO WAY I could ever 'make up' for what was done for me. All that can be done is to ask for his forgivness, and receive the forgiveness.

Did I like the movie? I don't think thats a word I would use. I am glad I saw it. The acting was exceptionally well done, it captured me, and really transported me to another world, which most movies fail to accomplish. The time flew by. I did close my eyes a few times, and was relieved that the director was sensitive to people needing an escape, because the sounds were dealable. It touched my heart, made me think, and I left with more hope.

Excellent summary, mayfly! I especially agree with your last paragraph......it's not a movie that you feel comfortable saying you like or don't like. It's not a movie for entertainment, I don't think. What it does, is make you think about a BOATLOAD of things....

I'm having an ongoing discussion with a very close friend, who is a very strong Christian, about some aspects of the movie, and we're just going to have to agree to disagree, but what it's about is this: While she believed right after seeing the movie that it was valuable in that it made her feel grateful for what Christ did for her, NOW she sees the movie as not a good thing at all. Her pastor, whom I think the world of and at one time was youth pastor at our church when my girls were growing up, gave a sermon about the movie that has swayed her opinion on it. I listened to the sermon (it's online, and if anyone wants to listen to it, just PM me and I'll give you the link). He does have some good points, but overall, I don't agree with him, nor do I agree with my friend. But it has provided for some interesting thought, and as I said, we have agreed to disagree.

I want to see the movie again, with my family (our girls, my parents, and my grandma). I'll probably buy it when it comes out on DVD, because that's the only way my grandma (age 89) will get to see it. She's a wise woman who expresses her thoughts and feelings very well, and I would love to hear what she has to say about it.

I wanted to add something that I didn't think about right away, after I saw the movie two weeks ago. You know something that just can't be translated into something on the movie screen is the emotional torture that Jesus went through. At the moment of his death, when he was separated from his heavenly father......now THAT was torture. I believe that **** is not literally fire and brimstone, but a total separation from God. For Jesus, as part of the trinity, that had to be the worst part, to be forsaken by God, even if only for a 'short' time.