Hollywood's Self Inflicted Wound

[Occhidiangela]

I am amazed. I just came back from seeing "The Passion of the Christ." What was all this hot air, bluster, and foaming at the mouth from the Hollywood elites about? Jesus wept, those idiots hyped a bloody art film into a box office success. Or was that all part of the plan, I wonder? Hard to say, in modern show bizz.

There were apparently producers who would only speak 'non attribution' who said, "Mel Gibson will never work in this town, or with me at any rate, again." All that hot air and screaming of AntiSemitism merely, it seems to me, whetted the appetite for a curious public.

I thought it was a well made film, good costumes, the actors did a pretty nice job, but . . . why all the fuss?

This film did for a part of the Bible story what 'Saving Private Ryan' did for "The Longest Day" and other D-Day movies. It took off some of the old school Hollywood Gloss and depicted a well known story in a rather gritty, bloody, and even gory presentation.

So, Jesus Christ Superstar meets "Braveheat." BFD.

Since Peckinpah made _The Wild Bunch_, Hollywood has been getting progressively more graphic, more violent, more risque, by the year. All Gibson did was apply that style to a story that had previously been sugar coated. At least in this film the violence had a point, rather than being purely gratuitous (Vin Diesel, ya listening?Ah Nold?) Tarantino also makes some where the violence has a point, though I daresay he is casual with the ketchup count.

Having "read the book" there were no plot surprises, just a few different garnishes to a well known story, and a no holds barred look at scourging, carrying a cross, mobs, piercing (yes, that piercing parlor on top of Golgotha where this guy did palm piercing for free) but the best part was:

All of the dialogue was in subtitles due to being in three foreign languages. Hey, just like the standard "art fag" films that are so popular with the pretentious artsy set. I hope the artsy set sees this film, they'll feel right at home. I thought "Diva" was a more entertaining story, personally. Of course, maybe this film was not trying to entertain anyone.

I recognized quite a bit of the Latin from my exposure to Italian, I had little to no recognition of the Hebrew or Aramaic due to my complete ignorance of both of those tongues. Thank goodness for subtitles. Of course, few dialogue surprises, but some nice characterizations of supporting roles from the story.

The depitcion of the presence of Satan was an interesting spin. Judas' despair and suicide was well done. Mary's sorrow was mind numbingly pounded into us. There was about one too many interationss of "I've fallen and I can't get up and those Romans keep whipping me and making me get up and carry that heavy old cross." Of course, I suppose part of the purpose of the film was to show what a royal pain it is to get some 39 lashings or more, and then have to carry a couple of railroad ties down and up a hill while some arsehole wearing boiled leather armor swats you with a whip. Not a sport that will get a lot of try outs next season. Maybe martyrdom is special because so few people go in for it as a career choice. Yasir Arafat, ya listening? If everyone's a martyr, it loses its shine.

In any case, I did not spend some 30 million bucks to put my story on America's movie screens, Mel did, good for him. Looks like a lot of folks want to see how and what he did.

I went since I had wanted to see it from last year when I heard Gibson was doing it with the old languages being spoken. That was reason enough for me.

The charges of antisemitism . . . uh, nothing new in this film that has not been pounded into atoms for the past 500 years. I did not see him do much new, though there were some interesting insertions of folks trying to stop the obvious kangarro court in process.

All in all, glad I went. My daughter was not grossed out, my wife was not disgusted by the gore, and even with the gore, the message does not really change by adding a high ketchup count and an exposition of Roman Imperial cruelty on celluloid.

Worth going to, unless you prefer Errol Flynn era films as my father in law, a life long and devout Catholic, does. He refuses to see the film on the grounds that he is tired of Hollywood goryifying and ruining his favorite stories. He has not darkened a theatre for 7 years now. :D

Maybe he's on to something. If more folks just did not go, maybe Hollywood would make better films. I wonder.

Rogue Rating Service scores a four beers (out of a possible six pack) rating. (Had some Rogue amber ale tonight, and found out it is coffee flavored. Just my drink, or so I thought. Nope, too sweet.)