Gibson's Passion 'virulently anti-semitic' says critic

“It is sickening, much more brutal than any Lethal Weapon.

The bloody depiction of Jesus’s crucifixion has garnered so much advance publicity to guarantee The Passion of the Christ will be a box office success despite being in Latin and Aramaic with subtitles.

It shows Jesus repeatedly beaten by Jewish temple guards and Roman soldiers, with a bloody focus on a lengthy scourging that leaves his body covered with deep lacerations.

Jesus, played by actor James Caviezel, is beaten more as he drags a cross through the streets, and the intensity of the violence escalates when he is crucified.

The film opens in the US tomorrow – Ash Wednesday – where churches and religious groups have block booked many cinemas.

Award winning critic Bernard was deeply unimpressed with Gibson’s production.

She wrote: “The Passion feels like a propaganda tool rather than entertainment for a general audience.

“Is it anti-Semitic?

“Yes.

“Jews are vilified, in ways both little and big, pretty much non-stop for two hours, seven minutes.”

New Yorker magazine said the film is a “sickening death trip, a grimly unilluminating procession of treachery, beatings, blood and agony.”

The Hollywood Reporter newspaper said passion contains “near pornographic violence” and Jews are depicted as “a bloodthirsty rabble.”

Newsweek magazine said the film is “more likely to inspire nightmares than devotion.”

Hundreds of New Yorkers got a preview the film yesterday – leaving many deeply moved and in tears, but some taken aback by the gory violence.

“I’d give it 10 stars. It’s one of the best movies I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Maritza Castro, 32, who had tears streaming down her face as she left a preview screening for church groups.

“I knew from the Bible that he did take a beating. I didn’t know how intense,” she told the New York Post.

“The movie just . . . Made me feel like I was part of that crowd [at the crucifixion], like I was there . . . So much so that my chest is just caved in. It’s awesome.”

Law school dean Tom Schoenherr said he wept during scenes showing Mary’s devotion to Jesus, but there were also times he had to avert his eyes from the often-bloody depiction of the last hours of Jesus’ life.

“The story is about someone who was murdered in a horrific way. It’s not a pretty thing. But it was an accurate portrayal and extremely effective,” he said.

Peter Trautmann, 32, a minister from Manhattan, said the film was “excellent, overwhelming. I cried through much of it,” he said. “It’s a very accurate, powerful, visceral experience.”

Several people said they were shocked by the graphic violence and gore.

“I think it’s more violent than the biblical texts indicate,” said Gene Habecker, 57, president of the Bible Society, which gave away 8,000 tickets for regularly scheduled screenings of the film.

He said he was concerned by what he saw as “gratuitous violence in the movie,” but added that the film will help spark religious discussion and exploration.

Episcopalian minister Earl Kooperkamp said, “It was way too Hollywood. The production was too violent and over the top.”