And for the next two hours he subjected his traumatized child to the unspeakable abuse unfolding on the screen. The man just smiled broadly at me and replied “yes”. For some perspective on just how inappropriate consider that Ebert described it as “the most violent film I have ever seen.” (And that’s spoken by somebody who has been a professional film critic since Lyndon Johnson was in the White House.) But my pleas fell on deaf ears. I pleaded with the father to remove his child. As we were sitting there waiting for the film to start a family came in and sat down in our row … including a child of about five. (For the most part, Gibson leaves the theological interpretation to the audience.) What Gibson has provided for me, for the first time in my life, is a visceral idea of what the Passion consisted of.”Īs for Ebert, so for me: Gibson’s film illumined in a uniquely powerful way the blood and flesh reality of the death of Christ, if not the exact meaning of it. Christ suffered, Christ died, Christ rose again, we were redeemed, and let’s hope we can get home in time to watch the Illinois basketball game on TV. “For we altar boys, this was not necessarily a deep spiritual experience. As Roger Ebert observed in his fascinating review:

While it would be incorrect to say I “enjoyed” the film (in what sense would one “enjoy” watching two hours of torture and murder?), the first time I saw it I was riveted and deeply moved.

The second time was just after it was released in theatres. The first time was at a private screening at a church before it was released into the theatres.

Can kids watch passion of the christ