(March 26, 2004) Mel Gibson’s information draws from all four Gospels The Passion of the Christ , a successful film with currently $295.3 million in box office receipts, depicts Jesus’ last 12 hours on Earth. Having heard much criticism from talk shows regarding the quality of the movie, just how good is The Passion of the Christ ? After all, this is not the first religious movie released to the public. Still, what makes The Passion of the Christ more successful to movie-goers than the others? According to Ben Stiller of Entertainment Tonight , director Mel Gibson, wanted to depict the teachings of the Bible in a more vivid and touching manner than other movies.The movie does not generally translate a single Gospel narration onto the screen. Rather, it is composed of accurate teachings of all four Gospels— Luke, John, Mark and Matthew— and is embellished with historical facts and Gibson’s Catholic beliefs. For example, at the beginning of the film, Jesus heals a high priest’s ear after it is cut off, similar to Luke’s teachings. Furthermore, Gibson derived from the Gospel of John Judas’ betrayal to Jesus—telling the Sanhedrin, the Jews, where Jesus was hiding in exchange for 30 coins. Additionally, according to the Gospel of Mark, Pilate, the governor of Judea, tries to free Jesus but the crowd decides to crucify him. Lastly, Gibson adds the earthquake scene told in Matthew’s Gospel. Gibson also portrays an ancient atmosphere with dialogue in a combination of Aramaic and Latin with English subtitles. The result is an artwork of realism that is a more or less vivid reenactment of the “Stations of the Cross—14 adversities that Jesus suffered on his way to the cross and ultimately, his death. Gibson’s portrayal of Jesus’ last hours proves touching to even the most diverse audiences. For example, flashbacks create a nostalgic and emotional tone. Each flashback in the movie actually serves as a time of relief from Jesus’ constant torment and torture. It adds an effect of love and passion to the film. Each flashback is emotionally moving, for it is an image Jesus sees and remembers before he dies. The Passion of the Christ is one of the rarest movies you will ever see. I recommend that all watch the film. – Mark Landig The Passion of the Christ is historically and bibically inaccurate Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last month or so, you’ve probably heard something about The Passion of the Christ . Stop wondering and save your money; wait for it to show up on HBO. Mel Gibson attempted, with emphasis on attempt, to make the film biblically, Catholically and historically accurate and managed to fail in properly portraying any of the three. It is difficult to keep track of all of the flaws in this film. In terms of the Bible, King Herod wanted Jesus dead. However, in the film his actions are shown as flippant, like he simply didn’t care one way or the other. For those non-Catholic readers, there is a belief called “the Stations of the Cross,” which illustrates 14 events that Jesus went through from condemnation to crucifixion. According to this belief, Jesus falls three times. According to Gibson’s film, he falls five. The inaccuracies do not end here. The most blindingly obvious historical error in the film is the crucifixion itself: through the hands instead of the wrists as it would have happened in the time period. The film’s emotional appeal is its only saving grace, as it doesn’t even offer an easily-followed version of the death of Jesus as some may claim. Gibson tried to make a “Cliffs Notes” version of the four Gospel accounts of the passing of Jesus.The “Cliffs Notes” version, though, is largely predicated on the moviegoer knowing what Gibson thinks he should know about the Bible and the Catholic faith. For example, the identity of Mary Magdalene is addressed halfway through the film in a flashback. Even then, you need to know some of the details of her story to pick-up on the fact that she is one of Jesus’ disciples. Remember the Stations of the Cross mentioned earlier? It comes into play here too. Without this background information, one would be hard-pressed to remember where in the Bible it says a village woman wipes Jesus’ face. That scene comes from this Catholic belief. Pick up a Bible if you want a good account of Jesus’ death. You’ll get more out of the reading than you would out of watching a two and a half hour blood-fest pretending it’s religiously enlightening. — Jessica Dutton