The Passion of the Christ in Japan

The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson's movie about the last 12 hours of Jesus' life, opened in Japan today. The movie was originally intended to open in just one theater (in Shibuya), but it opened in about 100 theaters instead due to all the publicity generated from the film's controversies in the USA. I went to see the 1 o'clock show. A friend bought our tickets early, which was good because the show was sold out. The first show also sold out, and I would assume the trend continued in the evening. Today was the first day of the month, so movie tickets were "just" 1000 yen (about $10). Plus it was Saturday and next week is "golden week" (a major national holiday when many people don't have to work). We'll see if the movie becomes a surprise hit here as well. Japanese people have a general interest in Jesus, just like Americans are interested in Gandhi and other historical figures. But most of what the Japanese know about Jesus comes from school, and the knowledge doesn't run deep. Probably the majority of Americans would at least generally understand what is happening in The Passion, but in Japan the purpose of Jesus' suffering (and this is according to my wife) will probably go over the heads of almost everyone. Some will just see the movie as a very graphic historical account of a cult leader who pushed it to far and got killed. Others will be confused and wondering why Christians make such a big, bloody deal of Jesus' death. Just as in other places, Japanese Christians have been organizing to give out literature and attempt to explain the film to those who don't get it.

I want to hold back from writing too much about the movie, because so much has been written already. I recommend the review by Siskel and Roeper and the cover story in TIME Magazine entitled "Why Did Jesus Have to Die." The TIME article is excellent in my opinion. (You must be a subscriber to read the TIME article online, but you can read it for free in a book store near you, or perhaps far from you...)

Personally, I thought the movie was an amazing achievement. It's powerful art; courageous film making; and an honest, effective attempt to communicate what is written in the Bible. Today I left the theater moved and thinking about much more important and life changing things that if I'd seen, say, "Kill Bill" or some romantic comedy. Those kinds of movies laugh at life and death and offer an escape or fantasy instead. This movie portrays death and yet contains hope and life. It's not "hope" because Tom Hanks (in Saving Private Ryan, another famously "violent" movie) rises from the carnage and saves the day by giving his life to hold a bridge. In movies like Saving Private Ryan, I think, we are invited to place ourselves in the film and re-envision ourselves as potential heros by proxy. Mel Gibson has attempted something more than giving us a better vision of ourselves. Beyond that, you'll just have to see the movie for yourself.

BTW, I took the Koi picture posted above in the river near where I live. I took the picture of the houses from the path along the same river. I was inspired to try a few Koi pictures after seeing this excellent example at Antipixel.

Posted by jw at May 1, 2004 10:21 AM