The Duke De Mondo On The Passion Of The Christ - Page 4

And those events, then.

They are incredibly hard to watch, even for card-carrying members of Gore-hounds Anonymous like myself. It's not the violence depicted, as such, as the effect it has on the afflicted. The barrage of whippings, floggings and derisory hoots of laughter would be somewhat desensitising after a while, if not for our man Caviezel yet again. The energy he puts into this performance is truly staggering, and serves on occasion to almost replicate the lash of the whip on our own hypothetical flesh.

When Christ tumbles down a set of stone steps under the weight of the cross, the sensation invoked in The Duke's stomach was next to sickening.
This is, in effect, the perfect response to accusations of inhumanity in the film. I, for one, felt nothing but intense sorrow throughout the ordeal. And it is an ordeal. From the trial and mocking to the final piercing of the side, the humiliation and torture clock in at least an hour and a half's worth of screen time. Whether or not you wish to endure such an assault on the emotions is a matter for personal consideration. When Christ cries for the forgiveness of his persecutors, as nails are driven through bloodied, broken hands, the sorrow is overwhelming. Surely the inhumanity lies in the likes of Kill Bill, (which The Duke loved regardless), with its parade of mutilated samurai evoking cheers of approval rather than mournful regret.

The idea being tossed around in some quarters, that this is nothing more than a two-hour extravaganza of barbaric torture, is, as far as The Duke is concerned, painfully short-sighted.

It is true that there are moments when the spectacle threatens to overcome the motive - to wit, blood splattering the camera lens, and a particularly unpleasant visit from a crow.

But again, these moments are countered by the tranquillity of the intercut flashbacks. Perhaps the greatest of these is a simple conversation between Mary and Jesus about a recently crafted Dining-Table. Maia Morgenstern is quietly brilliant in the role of The Mother Of Christ, certainly a more rewarding performance than her reading of Woman At Fountain in Dark Prince - The True Story Of Dracula.

In fact, it is mostly through Mary's eyes that the events leading to the crucifixion take place. She serves as the human respite from the near-inhuman barbarity on display elsewhere, and yet her gaze lingering on the broken, mutilated body of her son makes the scenes infinitely more poignant.

But what of the Anti-Semitic content, Duke?

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