Opinion Articles

*Death without Life is not the Full Story
A Reflection on Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ

Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion of the Christ was released in Australia on Ash Wednesday. Tracey Edstein, editor of Aurora, the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle’s newspaper, offers her reflections on the film.

The practice of placing roadside crosses to mark the spot where a loved one has been killed has never appealed to me, because I would prefer to focus on the life of the deceased rather than the tragic circumstances of their death.

For much the same reason, I found that The Passion of the Christ, released internationally on Ash Wednesday, focused on the last twelve hours of the earthly life of Christ at the expense of the earlier years. To me, the two cannot be usefully separated. While I know that director Mel Gibson's explicit intention was to focus on the last hours, I am not convinced that this approach does justice to Jesus Christ.

Certainly there are regular flashbacks to events in the private and public life of Jesus. Interestingly, some of these are pure invention, which seems to contradict Gibson's stated determination to 'tell it like it was'. There is also a tendency to embellish the gospel; when Jesus has almost expired on the cross, he sees a white dove in the sky. As one of the criminals is dying, he is attacked by a black crow which the Roman soldier obligingly dismisses. Not so subtle…

From the first frame, Jesus is seen as the suffering servant of Isaiah. Many Christians would want to portray also a Jesus who enjoyed the company of his friends, who doubted, who laughed, who "grew in wisdom" (Luke 2:40). Gibson's film highlights the notion of Jesus being tested and passing with flying colours, rather than his violent death being the outcome of a life lived with integrity. Mary's apocryphal question to Jesus on the cross - "When, where, how, will you choose to be delivered of this?" - confirms Gibson's interpretation. Perhaps he subscribes to Australian poet Bruce Dawe's interpretation in And a Good Friday Was Had By All:

"well, this Nazarene
didn't make it easier really - not like the ones
who kick up a fuss so you can
do your block and take it out on them"

There is a definite lyrical quality to the film with frequent use of slow motion, but at the risk of rendering the action less real, even a little surreal. Ironically, the bloodiness of the crucifixion is confronting, but Jesus somehow emerges as stoic rather than engaging.

There is a traditional Catholic hymn by James McAuley, sung on Good Friday, that exhorts, "How can we pass by and not care? It was our sins that nailed him there, on the cross." In media interviews Gibson has said repeatedly that he believes that we are all responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus, and there is a strong guilt-inducing strain pervading the film. So-called Catholic guilt needs no further exposure; what is needed in contemporary society is ownership of our actions and their consequences. I'm not sure that The Passion of the Christ encourages its audience to live with integrity so that God's kingdom of peace, justice and compassion is made real today.

Unlike some films about the life of Christ, The Passion of the Christ does depict the resurrection. However, it is brief and in danger of being seen as nominal rather than integral. The resurrection is the linchpin of Christian belief and this fact is not well served here.

Icon Productions is responsible for The Passion of the Christ. Traditionally, the purpose of an icon is to point beyond itself, to Christ. This film will be a signpost to Christ for some. However, it risks emphasising death at the expense of life. Didn't Jesus say, "I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full" (John 10:10)?

* This article was published in the The Newcastle Herald, Friday 27th March 2004