Mel Gibson's "The Passion"
 

I'm reading an article on this movie that was linked from Fark.com today. I've been curious about this movie for a while, but haven't read anything about it yet. I just just curious to see what you all thought about it.

Here is a link to the article.

The movie is about the last hours of Jesus Christ before his crucifixion, and was filmed entirely in Latin and Aramaic. It's supposedly one of the most authentic and realistic portrayals ever told on film, but it's getting a lot of heat from religious groups (big suprise) who haven't even seen it (another big suprise) for being anti-Semitic.

Another one of the things that I think it particularly interesting is that this movie might be shown in it's entirety without subtitles, which to me means it would have to be pretty visually stunning.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what this movie has to offer. I think it could be very intriguing.

The trailer can be downloaded here for anyone interested.

http://www.passion-movie.com/images/ThePassion_hi.mov

(Edit: Deleted identical link as above trailer)

I can't see it being successful without sub-titles.

Does anyone actually speak Aramaic these days? I know it's meant to be the authentic tongue of the time.

Mr Mephisto

I saw him doing some interview on one of those God channels one night. Probably EWTN since he's a pretty devout Catholic, though he's in a sect that doesn't follow the Vatican. He's forming some church to teach in the ancient languages as well....So much for liberal Hollywood.

I am really looking forward to this flick. I hope that they have the guts to release it without subtitles, but that might turn off many people. Hopefully someone will pick up the movie and distribute it soon.

I would like to watch it too, but why would you hope that it is released without sub-titles?

What's the point?

And don't say "for realism's sake", as you most likely can't understand Aramaic. In which case, it might as well be in Swahili.

Mr Mephisto

To watch the movie without the subtitles would mean you would have to focus that much more on what's going on in front of you. Jesus' story is pretty well known and seeing how Gibson is being religious about it, the story is somewhat familiar to most of the audience. Since there won't be little words on the bottom of the screen, people will focus more on the visuals and hopefully be more moved by them.

And, yes, for realism's sake is a part of it. Understanding is not necessarily important, it's the feel you get from the language. It's not the same necessarily, but I know many people who would watch a foreign flick in it's native language rather than watch a badly dubbed version. Unfamiliar language forces you to work and focus rather than get comfortable.

The thing is, if Gibson can pull off telling a story to an audience without speaking a word of English, then he has done a damn good job. Obviously it wouldn't be for everyone. But like Leon said, it's a very well known story, and people would know what is going on. The only question is, would it be entertaining? Thought provoking? What would it require of the audience, and would it be a rewarding experience? I, for one, am quite curious to see what he can pull off, be it a hit, or a flop. From what I've read so far, it will be a hit with the critics, but a flop in the boxoffice.

By the way, I haven't seen The Last Tempation of Christ either, and am curious about it as well. How do you suppose it would compare to this movie, and which would tell the better tale?

Good points both from leon and batman. i'm an actor, and one of the things we try to teach people with regards to classical literature, (IE Shakespeare and Greek theatre) is that the language, while english, since it isn't exactly modern, can often be hard to catch on to, or even understand at all, when first watching plays of this types, it is often helpful to only observe the emotions of the actors. we find, in many cases, that kids are pretty adept at following along with a story using this kind of technique. it is also a measure of an actor's skill, if he can transcend the words to find the deeper meaning and portray it, so for me, watching this without subtitles would be fantastic, because it forces us to focus on the core story