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Story of the day:
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PASSION-OFB Feb-25-2004 (520 words) xxxn
Bishops' reviewers see flaws but no anti-Semitism in 'The Passion'
By Catholic News Service
NEW YORK (CNS) -- The U.S. bishops' Office for Film & Broadcasting faulted Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" for its "in-your-face rawness that is much too intense for children" but dismissed charges that the movie blames the Jews collectively for the death of Jesus.
"Unflinching in its brutality and penetrating in its iconography of God's supreme love for humanity, the film will mean different things to people of diverse backgrounds," said the office's review.
It added that co-writer, producer and director Gibson "has undoubtedly created one of the most anticipated and controversial films of recent times."
Distributed to the Catholic press Feb. 25 by Catholic News Service, the review was written by Gerri Pare, director of the film and broadcasting office, staff member David DiCerto and office consultant Anne Navarro. The office is a New York-based division of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The review was also written in consultation with Atonement Father James Loughran, director of the Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute, and Salesian Father Lawrence E. Frizzell of the Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies at Seton Hall University.
Pare, DiCerto and Navarro called the movie "an artistic achievement in terms of its textured cinematography, haunting atmospherics, lyrical editing, detailed production design and soulful score."
But they also cited "flaws as well as triumphs ..., such as a recurring tendency to slip into the horror-genre conventions, including a scene of a guilt-racked Judas being taunted by little boys whose faces turn into those of grotesque, macabre ghouls."
"And close-ups of Christ's scarred and mutilated body are truly horrible," they added.
Although the violence in "The Passion" is not "made to look exciting, glamorized or without consequences," viewers may be "repelled by such unremitting inhumanity," the review said.
"In the end such savagery may be self-defeating in trying to capture the imagination of the everyday moviegoer," it added.
"Each flashback in the film is a welcome respite from the near-incessant bloodletting, but more importantly for how it conveys Jesus' core message of God's boundless love for humanity," the reviewers said. "More of these flashbacks would have been helpful in fleshing out the life and teachings of Jesus."
But on the question of whether the film is anti-Semitic, Pare, DiCerto and Navarro said the movie "suggests that all humanity shares culpability for the Crucifixion" and makes it "abundantly clear that it is the Romans who are Christ's executioners."
"Overall, the film presents Jews in much the same way as any other group -- a mix of vice and virtue, good and bad," they said, although they called "problematic" a scene of the "stock frenzied mob uniformly calling for Christ's crucifixion."
The reviewers said "The Passion" may have "little resonance" for those viewing it "without a faith perspective."
But for Christians, they said, it "is likely to arouse not only passionate opinions, but hopefully a deeper understanding of the drama of salvation and the magnitude of God's love and forgiveness."
The Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted.
END
Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service.
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