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Real
‘Passion of Christ’ on screen
Mel Gibson from Brave Heart to Patriot he has become the force behind this Hollywood Blockbuster The Passion of Christ. Hugely criticized by Jewish groups for anti Semitism, while civil society pressured on the case of extreme violence, still The Passion successfully broke all records that were set by movies in the calibre of Lord of the Rings. The Passion of Christ depicts the last twelve hours of Jesus. Gibsons team successfully created the environment of ancient Jerusalem, and the arid surrounding Judean desert, in Christ’s time. They scouted from Morocco and Tunisia to New Mexico and Spain but the logistics of moving from one place to another also essential to the visual style of The Passion of The Christ . It is the work of renowned cinematographer and four-time Oscar nominee Caleb Deschanel. Deschanel, who previously collaborated with Mel Gibson on The Patriot. After spending long hours with the director discussing his vision for the film, looking to the canvases of Caravaggio, the groundbreaking late renaissance painter managed to get the maximum of setting up the images of the city. Key to the success of this movie relies on the man who could give the best performance as Jesus. This meant the finding of an actor capable of embodying to the highest degree possible both the humanity and spiritual transcendence of Jesus Christ. Gibson sought an actor who could lose himself in the role entirely, and whose identity would not interfere with the realism the director was seeking. The search led Gibson to James Caviezel, last seen in The Count of Monte Cristo. Gibson had been riveted by a picture he had seen of Caviezel – especially by the actor’s penetrating eyes and transparent expressions, which Gibson felt, he had the rare ability to convey the essence of love and compassion in utter silence. During the demanding production, Caviezel had to face his own physical vulnerabilities in a profound way. In one of the film’s most graphic sequences, Christ is scourged – or whipped – extensively, then further flayed with an infamous Roman torture device known as a flagrum, or “the cat o’ nine tails,” a whip designed with multiple straps and embedded with barbed metal tips to catch and shred the skin and cause considerable blood loss. To capture Christ’s resulting wounds, Caviezel had to undergo gruelling, full-body makeup sessions that lasted for hours. But that was just the beginning of his trials, for the irritating makeup soon caused his skin to blister, preventing him from even sleeping during this time. He also spent more than two weeks filming the crucifixion scenes, during which he had to carry, or more often drag under great duress, a 150-pound cross (about the half the weight of a real crucifixion cross) to Golgotha, and later to be suspended from it. Caviezel trained for the tortuous positions he would have to stand in by holding squats against a wall for up to ten minutes at a time and lifting weights to strengthen his lower back. In addition, he spent these weeks working in a loin cloth in the middle of the Italian winter, and experienced several bouts with hypothermia, often becoming so cold he could no longer speak. At times, the crew had to put heat packs on Caviezel’s frozen face just to warm up his lips enough to move. Gibsons found the best person to play Mary, the mother of Jesus. He went farther a field, choosing Maia Morgenstern, a renowned Romanian actress of Jewish descent. Gibson had viewed Morgenstern in a decade-old European movie and upon seeing the tenderness in her face, immediately thought of her for the role. With little else to go on, he set out on a quest to meet her, discovering she is considered one of the greatest actresses of her generation in her country. Also immersing herself into the life of a woman beloved through the centuries is international film star Monica Bellucci who portrays Mary Magdalene. When Bellucci heard that Mel Gibson was making a film about The Passion, she was so intrigued by it, she immediately pursued him. “I thought it was such a strong and courageous project to take on”, she explains. “I knew it would not be an easy movie, but it is also the kind of movie that you know audiences are going to think about for a long time afterwards. This is what drew my interest”. The dark character of the movie is none other than the eternal enemy of the human race taking on this iconic role is Italian actress Rosalinda Celantano who portrays the film’s Satan, depicted as an androgynous figure who can shape-shift into many forms, spreading fear and doubt. The actress’ eyebrows were shaved to create a more hypnotic stare and she was shot in slow-motion to add a further sense of unnaturalness to her portrait. Later, her voice was dubbed with that of a male actor to increase the aura of confusion that surrounds Satan. “The Passion” taken from the Latin for suffering, but also means a profound and transcendent love. The Passion of Christ is must for all irrespective of what ones religion is this is a masterpiece of highest class. |
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