Scots cinema-goers feel the passion of the Christ

Published on Sunday 28 March 2004 00:00

FOR months before its release, it was dogged by controversy and its director accused of using gratuitous violence and anti-semitism.

And yesterday, on the first full day of release in Scotland of Mel Gibson’s depiction of the last days of Christ, there were extreme reactions to the movie from cinema-goers.

Cinema managers said large crowds had lined up to see The Passion of the Christ, with priests and nuns among those attending the first screenings.

The film, which opened in UK cinemas on Friday evening, purports to be an accurate representation of the last days of Christ, and includes dialogue in Latin and Aramaic, the ancient language of Israel.

The authenticity of the bloody punishment and crucifixion scenes has led to claims of sadism and some Jewish groups say the depiction of religious leaders who oppose Jesus borders on racism.

Despite the months of publicity, only 24 of Scotland’s 70 cinemas are screening the film.

At Edinburgh’s UGC Fountain Park yesterday, cinema-goers said they had been shocked by the torture scenes but felt they had not been gratuitous.

Computer technician Richard Lo, 42, said: "I thought it was very violent but it depicts an actual death sentence. I don’t think it was racist. It showed one group of religious leaders in a bad light but it didn’t make any bad comment about the Jewish faith."

Tina Harkess, 48, a leisure services manager, told how she cried during some scenes, even though she did not consider herself religious.

"At one point in the film I was moved to tears. I wouldn’t say that I’m an atheist but I don’t attend church. I wanted to see what the hype was about and I actually felt it was a very powerful, emotional film."

Duty manager Stephen Bryant said: "This is not your traditional multiplex film and we have had a lot of people that we don’t normally see in our cinema. Quite a few nuns and perhaps more elderly people.

"The film is showing in our biggest capacity cinema, which seats 400, so we have been bracing ourselves for a lot of interest."

Gibson, a devout Catholic, put his own money into the film and used his influence to convince wary studios to distribute it. He has been rewarded by healthy box-office returns in America, where the film opened last month.

Although he directs and produces the film, the Hollywood star does not appear. The title role is taken by Count of Monte Cristo star Jim Cavaziel and the rest of the cast consists of largely unknown actors.

The film, which was made on a budget of 14m, has prompted what some believe to be miraculous occurrences.

Detectives in Texas concluded that Ashley Nicole Wilson had hanged herself after they found a suicide note by her body in January. But after seeing the film last week, her boyfriend, Dan Leach, turned himself in to police and admitted murdering her.

Earlier this month a second man, James Anderson, walked into a police station in Florida and owned up to a bank robbery after watching the film.

The Catholic Church has praised the film, sending letters and promotional material to parishes around Scotland urging churchgoers to see it.

Bishop Joseph Devine, the Bishop of Motherwell, said several parishes had made block bookings to see the film.

"I left feeling that the film is without question the most powerful I have ever seen. I did not pick up on the racism at all. It shows we are all responsible for Jesus’s death.

"I have heard that a lot of parishes have been organising coach trips to their local cinemas because of the interest. It is not, however, something people should see if they are particularly squeamish or sensitive."

SNP culture spokeswoman Roseanna Cunningham, who is herself a Catholic, said she was curious to see the film and had not been put off by adverse publicity over its violence.

"Some of the comments against it I found a little hard to understand unless people are saying that nothing that is in the Christian gospel should be shown at all.

"What do people think it was like? We have become so inured to a sanitised form of screen violence and also that story that I suppose the reality of what it would have been like comes as a shock."