Satan's in the DVD Player

Because my mom wanted to, we watched Passion of the Christ.

Now, I would say that this film has caused me to be a reborn Catholic and all that, but that sadly isn't the case for me. I can see how empathetic people can say this, but my level of empathy isn't as high as those strong of faith. If anything, the movie made me feel uncomfortable physically to the point where my back itches with a thousand scars, my sides feel like they have been clawed by cats, my head feels like it is about to implode, and my hands feel like I'm missing several key bones.

As a movie, I'm sorry to say that this isn't an inspiring religious film. It's no Ten Commandments, a film I appreciate and respect. It feels too long. It's too gory of a film. It's not inspiring as everyone claimed it was short of the critics that say it is better suited in the horror genre of film.

Artistically, I have to hand it to Mel. Some of the scenes were excellently shot and created a poetry that most films today lack. The music, the visuals, and just the very emotion of the events is hard to capture in one form or another. Mel does this so well that I found myself appreciating the film on an artistic level. This is probably the first film that I appreciate on this level as well, so points for that.

Acting wise, the cast does their job just as well as how Mel got his shots in. I've seen several actors try to sell pain and sadness only to not pull it off and come off as ridiculous if not fake. (Claire Danes, I'm thinking of you in the final scene of Romeo + Juliet.) This cast sells those emotions so well, it's hard to believe that they were acting.

So why the title of this entry?

The DVD my mother got was faulty. During the part where Jesus is addressed by the other two people being nailed to the cross to either side of him, the DVD just halts. I had to press the skip button just to get to the next chapter. That's means that I missed viewing a rather important scene as far as the story goes.

Hence, the title.