Passion of our Lord

Raymond Arroyo is the news director of EWTN – the Eternal Word Television Network. He wrote an article on Mel Gibson, who is directing a film on the Passion, in Rome. This is what he wrote:

"Bounding around Studio 5 on the Cinecitta lot, not far from the catacombs, Mel Gibson is giving the performance of his life. In the shadow of an olive tree, wrapped in blue fog, he is at first a trembling Judas yanking at his lip, now a torch-toting member of Herod’s guard. After running a hand through his name, he is suddenly a peaceful Messiah.

"Sadly, none of this is being captured on film. But the athletic directing style betrays a zeal – an almost spiritual possession – to tell a story still confined to Mr. Gibson’s mind, yet known to millions. ‘It’s going longer than I’d like’, he whispers, as the actors try to copy his performance. ‘They’ve got to get into my head to see what I see.... and you should see what it looks like from the inside.’ Then he is back on set, demonstrating for the Italian players.

"The actor-director is shooting ‘The Passion’, his first directorial effort since the Academy Award Winning ‘Braveheart’ in 1995.

This arresting, graphic production explores the torture and death of Jesus Christ. It is no surprise. All his work has shown a Catholic sensibility. ‘Braveheart’, ‘We Were Soldiers’, ‘Signs’ – each dealt with sacrificial heroes who rely on their faith for survival.

"The Passion was conceived during a reappraisal of his life, 13 years ago. ‘I read the New and Old Testament and tried to focus on that to maintain myself, he says. Reflecting on Catholic theological works and the sacrifice of Christ, he found various images surfacing. ‘I began to imagine what that must have been like,’ he says. ‘I mean really like. No mere man could have survived this torture’.

"The Passion focuses almost exclusively on the sacrifice of Christ. ‘We are talking about the single event that influenced civilization as we know it: the law, the arts, our knowledge of good and evil’, he says. ‘It has touched every possible aspect of everyone’s life, whether they realize it or not.’

"To underscore Christ’s physical sacrifice, Mr. Gibson and special effects artists have created some of the most graphic scenes ever committed to film. To become the brutalized Jesus, actor Jim Caviezel often spent up to eight hours a day in the make-up truck. He may be the most Semitic looking Jesus ever on screen.

"He endured 15 days on a cross, in freezing weather, a separated shoulder, the flu, and literal scourging for the role. He says; ‘I see people pulling Jesus off the cross these days. They just don’t want to see how he suffered, but this is what happened.’

"Dissatisfied with ‘cheesy’ portrayals that miss the political situation and ‘prettify’ the torture and death of Christ, Mr. Gibson is struggling to recapture the historical reality, right down to the clothing and eating customs of the Jews under the old law – to ‘make it truly about a man born to the House of David.’

"The Passion is being shot in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Hebrew, with no subtitles – a point of honor for Mr. Gibson. ‘There is power and mystery in these dead languages, and this is what was spoken at the time’, he says. The movie will rely on its visuals to tell the tale.

"Will it work? Can the images convey the story? Will audiences endure dead languages they don’t understand? And is the violence too much? Having seen a half hour of the 90 minute film, I must say that it is as disturbing as it is comforting. The images are so vivid, and the story so familiar, that language becomes almost incidental.

"Wearied and stumbling, with one eye swollen shut, Mr. Caviezel maintains great dignity and strength. The violence, though intense, is never gratuitous. It rescues Christ from myth and grounds him in reality. Always, his actions are heroic.

"Mercifully, Mr. Gibson has chosen to interrupt the brutality with artistic breathers: flashbacks to the Last Supper and to Christ’s early life. At one point we see Christ fall under the weight of the cross, in the sight of his mother. For a moment we flash back to the child Jesus falling near to console him. Now, on the harsh streets of Jerusalem, she can do nothing but watch her boy suffer.

"Mr. Gibson says that ‘this is not a Christian vs. Jewish thing. He came into the world and it knew him not. Looking at Christ’s crucifixion, I look first at my own culpability in that.’

"The whole project has been a challenge. ‘There have been a lot of obstacles thrown in the way of this picture; it’s full of discomfort, Mr. Gibson confides. ‘And I understand it’s the other realm, warring. So I have taken steps to put on armor.’ A priest says Mass on the set each day. I also notice that Mr. Gibson wears a crucifix and brown scapular around his neck. Mr. Caviezel carries relics of the saints in his costume, during shooting. ‘And I try to stay squeaky clean’, Mr. Gibson adds.

" ‘For Mel and Jim, their belief is their whole lives, and they are committed to telling this story,’ Steve McEveety, Mr. Gibson’s producer and partner, observes.

"Back in Studio 5, Mr. Gibson is as happy as a child. The actors have finally gotten the arrest scene, in the Garden of Gethsemane, right. ‘It’s happening, it’s happening. Ha. This so cool’, he says. Then: ‘O.K. Take your places. One more time.’

"Without the support of a studio, or a distribution deal, Mr. Gibson and his Icon Productions are reportedly financing the $25 million dollar project themselves, believing that ‘The Passion’ will find its audience.

" ‘I look upon myself as a conduit here – a tool, using what God gave me’, Mr. Gibson says. For those who still doubt the power of faith, and the merits of sacrifice, one has only to peek into Studio 5 to see them in bold, passionate flower."

Some media men, and some media women, are not doing everything right. But Mel Gibson is trying to use the talents that God gave him, in media, to bring God to man, and man to God.

When it comes to the Philippines, watch this movie: The Passion, if you can!