Individual Entry

The Passion of the Christ **

USA: Mel Gibson, 2004

Well, I've finally seen Splatterchrist. My parents rented the DVD: a good thing too, since I'll be damned if I want to spend money keeping afloat Mel Gibson's private island. And what a silly film it was! My dad, never one to mince his words, spent most of its duration laughing and talking to the television screen (he wanted to know how he could concentrate on his dinner if forced to read subtitles), while my mum, the semi-devout Christian of the family, watched in a fairly disinterested manner, wandering in and out of the room at regular intervals to fetch more food and drink. Clearly she knew this story already.

Splatterchrist is a veritable mess of an exploitation flick that wallows in its own misguided pretentiousness and proceeds to bludgeon the viewer over the head to the extent that the violence loses all its power very quickly. At times the film is so ridiculous that it becomes funny, from the bullet-time coins thrown to Judas at the beginning to the number of slow motion shots of Jesus falling over to the hilarious Terminator-style resurrection at the end. Providing additional comedy value are the various conniving, hook-nosed Jews and pink-faced, mascara-laden Romans, who would probably be more at home in The Life of Brian. The special effects are excellent and Caleb Deschanel's photography is often inspired (if repetitive), but ultimately, with Gibson's blatant lack of tact and his absolute refusal to provide context of any kind - this feels like Act III of something much bigger - The Passion of the Christ just ain't that good. The film was certainly intriguing, don't get me wrong, but the blatant sadomasochism of the whole piece was a bit of a turn-off for me. Prepare to (snigger) crucify me, guys, but I prefer Braveheart.

IMDB reference