The Passion of the Christ
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| Thu, 02-26-2004 - 12:58am |
I knew it would be opening big, but I was surprised to find out this morning that one of the local 20-plexes was showing it to sold out crowds on every screen from 6:30 this morning to around 11:00 when their usual lineup started and The Passion only continued on a few screens.
I've been reading incredibly moving reactions to it like this one in National Review--
"THE PASSION IN HARLEM
I just got out of a screening at the Magic Johnson Theatres up at 123rd and Frederick Douglass in Harlem. The theatre was packed, with an audience that was about 85 percent black, and included many seniors (of course: daytime). The response to the film was just about universal: Loud applause at the end, and vocal endorsements of the movie as we exited. One sweet elderly lady, I’d say about 80 years old, was shaking her head on the way out, saying: “If you read the Bible, that’s exactly what happened.†Another woman, in her 30s, was brushing away tears. “It’s not the movie,†she said,†it’s the reality of the thing.†During the screening, the man I set next to—a guy in his 20s, tall, strong, and vigorous-looking, nobody’s wimp—gasped at some of the cruelties inflicted on Jesus. (When Jesus’ cross is turned over on its face so He can be nailed to it more securely, this man blurted out, “Oh, s***, that’s too much.â€) Before the movie started, there was a little film in which Magic Johnson explained the rules for his theatres: “No talking. . . . No hats or colors . . . . If you have a problem on the street, don’t bring it inside.†I couldn’t help thinking: There is a problem on the street, every street, and this movie is about the solution."
I wanted to see it this weekend, but now the local news is reporting that virtually every showing in Dallas through the weekend is already sold out, so now I have to wait til next Saturday.

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And the ressurection and resulting triumph over sin, IS the most important part of the story for ALL Christians, not just Protestants. We may not focus on the torture and crucifixion quite as much as Catholics, but the WHOLE story is precious to all Christians, of all denominations.
Edited 2/29/2004 2:26:12 AM ET by katmandoo2001
Welcome Adesgirls
Tracy welcome to the "In the News' board!
>"the rock was removed and it showed Jesus sitting there, totally healed ,then he got up and walked away."<
There are differences in what really took place but none seem to correspond with how you describe the movie.
>"Joseph of Arimathea obtained permission to take Jesus' body to his private tomb. He wrapped the body in a clean linen cloth, placed it in the tomb and sealed the entrance. On Sunday morning, an unknown number of women came to the tomb. The stone had been rolled away. They found that Jesus' body was missing."<
Quote from...........
French cinemas refuse to screen The Passion.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/02/29/wpass29.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/02/29/ixworld.html
French cinema chains are refusing to distribute or screen Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion of the Christ because of fears that it will spark a new outbreak of anti-Semitism.
France is the only European country where there is still no distribution deal for the film, which depicts the last days of Jesus Christ in graphic detail and is accused by critics of stoking anti-Jewish sentiment.
The film was released in America last week but French distributors are wary of its impact on audiences and want to gauge its reception elsewhere in Europe, where it is due to open next month.
A veteran film industry figure said: "We don't want to be on the side of those who support such anti-Semitism. When we distributed It's a Beautiful Life by Benigni we were worried about the risk of making a comedy about the Holocaust, but that was different. There's enough anti-Semitic stuff circulating here already without us throwing oil on the fire."
The debate over the film is highly sensitive in France, where a spate of fire-bombings of synagogues and Jewish schools and attacks on rabbis over the past year has led Israel to denounce it as the most anti-Semitic country in Europe.
Anger with Israel among France's large and growing Muslim population, combined with the strength of Right-wing parties in some French districts, have contributed to an atmosphere which has alarmed political and Jewish leaders.
Last year Paris police were forced to set up a dedicated unit to deal with anti-Semitic crimes. Schoolteachers complain that they face a hostile reaction among Muslim students when trying to teach the history of the Holocaust, which some equate with Israel's actions against Palestinians in the occupied territories.
Now a string of major distributors have signalled they are not interested in the film. "We could have asked to see it but we haven't," said Jean-Claude Borde, director of Pathe Distribution. "The subject doesn't interest us. Usually we acquire the rights to a film well in advance after reading the screenplay, but with Gibson it's not our cup of tea."
Other companies have either dismissed the film as "rubbish" or voiced anxiety over its content. "I didn't even stay until the end of The Passion. It's rubbish, nothing but a huge marketing operation.
"There are already enough bad films in France," said one French distributor who saw an early screening in the US. The industry is acutely aware of the capacity of film to stir popular passions after its experience of violent demonstrations and attacks on French cinemas following the release of Martin Scorsese's Last Temptation of Christ in 1988.
This time, many in France fear that The Passion will stir up angry reaction of a different kind. The newspaper Liberation described Gibson's faith as "a Shi'ite version of Christianity ... imbibed with blood and pain" which "reduces the message of Christ to his death by torture".
This image legitimised anti-Semitism, Liberation declared. "The cult of the martyr is a dangerous combustible in which fanatics burn. It can feed intolerances and religious wars."
So far the celebrated director Luc Besson is the only significant figure in the French industry to express interest in getting the film screened.
A group of traditional Catholics has formed a pressure group to attempt to force a French distributor to take up the film. Daniel Hamiche, a publisher and journalist, who has founded Pro-Passion, a supporters group, said: "France, the older son of the Church, is the only country in Europe where still today the film hasn't found a distributor. At first I believed they wanted to see how the film would do at the box office. Now, with the success of the film in America, I don't really understand why they are not snapping up - unless it's self-censorship."
A spokesman for Unifrance, the official promotion body for French films, blamed Gibson for the impasse, claiming he had imposed "difficult" conditions on the release of the film. She said: "I don't think Mel Gibson's people have been making it very easy for the distributors."
M Hamiche remains disgusted by what he regards as his countrymen's perfidious approach to The Passion.
"I do understand that the distributors and the Jewish community might be worried about possible attacks, but I don't believe the film is anti-Semitic and I think they are being over sensitive."
French jews fear that if M Hamiche's campaign is successful, anti-Semitic beliefs will spread. Patrick Klugman of the Committee Representing Jewish Institutions in France said: "The most important progress made against anti-Semitism in the 20th Century was achieved at Vatican II when the reference to the responsibility of the Jewish People in the catechisms was repealed.
"It's a shame that this film challenges this decision."
I strongly suggest that you go and see it it will touch you.
ann-anise
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