‘The Passion of the Christ’ could become annual Easter event_32105

Posted: 3/18/05

'The Passion of the Christ' could
become annual Easter event

By Kevin Eckstrom

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)–Easter is that time of year that conjures up images of bunny rabbits, Easter bonnets, jelly beans–and Mel Gibson?

The actor/director who unveiled his blood-soaked vision of Jesus' last hours in The Passion of the Christ last year is back with a “softer” version that hit at least 500 theaters nationwide March 11.

The Passion Recut is something of a Second Coming for Gibson, a devout Roman Catholic whose film was snubbed by Hollywood despite heartland appeal and a global box office gross of $611 million. Gibson promises to release his film each year at Easter.

Gibson said he cut six minutes of “some of the more horrific aspects” from the film, in part to broaden its appeal for younger viewers. The original was rated “R”; the recut also would have been rated “R” but is being released without a rating.

Some fans say the film reinforces what they see as the central message of Easter and at the heart of Christian faith–the immense suffering that Jesus endured to save sinners.

John Bartunek, a Catholic priest who was a consultant on the film, credited Gibson for putting “flesh and bones” back on Jesus.

“The meaning of Easter isn't bunnies and jelly beans,” said Bartunek, author of the new book Inside the Passion. “If (the film) becomes a fixture, great, I say. Great. It reminds us of what Easter is all about.”

While the edited version spares viewers some of the most graphic violence in the original film, critics say it still contains troubling overtones that seem to blame some of Jesus' fellow Jews for his death.

Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, remains a vocal opponent of Gibson's film.

“To have available, year-in and year-out, this perverse, hateful, inaccurate version of the Passion which is totally out of sync with Christian thought and today's theology is troubling,” Foxman said.

Jews aren't the only ones who are concerned. Peter Pettit, director of the Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., called Gibson “shameless” for exploiting Christian piety in his film.

Some, like Pettit, wonder if The Passion will become such an Easter staple that it will become what Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is to Christmas or It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is to Halloween.

Not so fast, says one pop culture expert. Robert Thompson of Syracuse University predicted limited appeal for the film.

“The things that do the best are the things that can have the whole family participate,” he said. “There are a lot of parents who don't want to pack up the family and bring them to this thing.”

Even some fans are hesitant. Brad Wicks, an education minister at James River Assembly of God in Ozark, Mo., who revamped Sunday school classes around The Passion, said the film is sobering.

“It's not something you're going to watch all year-round, like 'Let's pop some popcorn and put The Passion in,'” Wicks said. “It's not fun to watch, it's not people's favorite thing to watch, but it's something they need to see.”