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I haven't seen it but heard that it's scenes are too violent to see, unless u r a sadist or something.

Neither have I seen it. Interesting coincidence.. Jim Caviezel plays Jesus Christ.. wonder if the common initials has to do anything with it. And do they show Jesus die, bcoz according to some he came out of the grave alive.. and died at a ripe age in Kashmir.

Well i saw the movie and I liked it. The last 12 hours of Christ are depicted well, especially after the crucification with good details. I agree its gore torture, but then thats the way it might have been at that time!! It did move me a bit!

Dude u were sitting like 3 feet away when we saw it... U're telling me u didnt see it then???? neways I really liked the movie and I dont think the movie supposed to be anything but the last 12 hours of Jesus's life... though it is true that it would've been better if they hadnt shown so much gore...

I saw this movie in a theatre, and the gory scenes were too much for me too. I saw the movie with an old Catholic couple and they were crying all through the movie (and I must confess that I did cry too). What I think the message of the movie is that, to show or re-emphasize that Jesus Christ went through all that for the people. He took all the sins of the people on himself. (thats why the show Satan yelling in the end) And it is correct that he did not actually die and they also show this in the movie. I forgot what actually happened after that. That old couple was a good source information though.

This movie sucks..but alas ..what u see depends on what color glasses u r wearin.It is nothin but a sad show of how they killed JC.
On the same note - I would strongly suggest everybody read Dan Browns "The Da vinci Code" and when they finish that they read "Angels and Demons" by the same author.

Guess the central message was for the devout Christians to show that Christ had suffered for their sins...sorta shame them into leading more pious lives...i maybe wrong.

Anya, this time you are getting it all wrong!

The movie really is about passion. You'll see the passion if you see how JC leads by example rather than just giving heart-warming sermons.

Most churches in India, UK and the US speak of a glamourised religion they call Chrisitianity. Very few altars depict the body of JC on the cross, and even few depict the body bleeding with nails, thorns et al. Go to churches in Mexico, you'll get touched by just seeing the cross. As Alpa rightly says, the movie _is_ about what JC went through for people. For Christians the movie simply reminds, "He did and underwent all this for you, now what are you doing with your life?"

Well, whether or not JC had Godly powers is debatable. But even if you assume that JC was a mortal like one of us, the level of belief he puts in his convictions is something everyone can learn from.

amol: well put .. i was waiting for someone to put forth this explanation. it makes sense actually - and i have read it in one or two reviews.. but still .. i am not satisfied with the movie. i think it could have been made into a much, much better movie which could still have inspired people in the way said. Right now, i doubt how many viewers are really inspired in the way intended. The movie currently brings up anti-semitic emotions and the viewer is left with a general sense of discomfort.

Your interpretation of the movie's title and its theme is not quite right. You seem to have interpreted the word 'passion' in the literal sense. However, it must be noted that in the biblical sense, the 'Passion' is the term used to denote the entire episode of Jesus Christ being betrayed by Judas and then condemned to death and his suffering along the way (This incident immediately follows the 'Last Supper') In every Catholic mass that I attend, they mention the pain and the agony that JC went through to deliver all humanity from the 'original sin' (or the mortal sin, which is something that all human beings are born with, because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. JC and John the Baptist are the only two mortals born without this sin) And on every Good Friday, the entire 'Passion' is reenacted, with the dialogue and emotions in place. However, over the years, it is easy to get jaded and conditioned about the torture the Christ was put through, so this movie aims to remind the Christians in a very in-your-face, blunt and explicit way about that which we've taken for granted. That Jesus Christ was Son of God AND Son of Man, he had no special powers to endure the pain, he suffered just as an ordinary mortal. That gore which we cringe at only by looking, he went through personally and by not being good Christians, we are disgracing the sacrifice he made. As a Catholic, I believe the movie has done an excellent job. And we can see how the director wanted it as close to reality as possible, so much so that the language used is Aramaic, the language the people of that era spoke, rather than English, which would obvly make it more popular to the movie-goers.
Politically-correct disclaimer: "We", as used above, refers to Christians. :P
Ah, all this talk about the Christ, right after getting back from church :) Quite a coincidence.

Sherene: .. well, that puts things in perspective. Your explanation of what the passion stands for has given me a different angle from which to think about the movie.

An addition to Amol Hatwar's comment: I havent seen many churches in India, but if you are right about the depiction of Jesus on the cross, then I differ there. I grew up in a catholic school, and worshipped in front of a cross which had the bleeding statue of Jesus. Probably that visualization made me admire the movie more, and look at it with another perspective!!

"This film takes abuse, torture and execution to pornographic excess and it is not suitable for viewing by children. If a film depicted any other individual—fictional or otherwise—being put through such a harrowing experience, I would think it likely that it would have been rated X, or banned outright as being obscene, perhaps even if it had been Hitler cast as the victim. That such generally objectionable imagery can be made palatable to a broad audience by placing it in a religious context is food for thought." - http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/ClockworkMessiah.html