Mel Gibson has decided it would be a good idea to make a movie about the last 12 hours of the life of Jesus Christ, in Latin and Aramaic, without subtitles:

The directing job is Gibson's first since winning multiple Oscars with Braveheart in 1995.

Gibson will not appear in the film, which is due to begin shooting in early November.

Gibson is also involved in producing the spiritual drama, which so far has no American studio interested in its distribution rights.

At a news conference in Rome, Gibson said: "Obviously, nobody wants to touch something filmed in two dead languages. They think I'm crazy, and maybe I am... but maybe I'm a genius."

He added: "I want to show the film without subtitles. Hopefully, I'll be able to transcend language barriers with visual storytelling. If I fail, I'll put subtitles on it, though I don't want to."

According to US entertainment trade newspaper Variety, the only modern film in memory to have been performed in Latin was the late British director Derek Jarman's Sebastiane, which was set in the fourth century.

James Caviezel, who appeared in High Crimes and The Count of Monte Cristo, will play Christ in the film while Italian actress Monica Bellucci is reportedly in negotiations to appear as Mary Magdalene.