Well, I saw the movie Saturday, with a "lapsed Catholic" gal pal.
And we both thought it was great! After we got out of the theater, we turned to each other and said, "What in the world was all that hysteria about?" Because the violence, though certainly graphic, was not gratuitious at all - it was there for a reason.
As for "anti-Semitism," please! give me a break! My impression is that it's not anti-Jewish but anti-religious authorities -- it's the high priests who are pushing for Christ's crucifixion.
The ordinary Jewish people on the streets - most notably "Veronica" and "Simon of Cyrene" - are really heroic in their efforts to protect Jesus from the Roman soldiers' brutality.
And Mary - in the movie as well as in real life
- is the bridge that helps us understand what is really going on.
Now - even though I think it's a great movie and I totally recommend it, and think the violence is overemphasized and the anti-Semitism is just a pure out-and-out lie -- I would like to add that I also think that the movie is perhaps being a little over-hyped by its proponents. It is a great movie but I never forgot for one second that it WAS a movie. As a couple of other people here have pointed out, it's not a sacrament, and it's not a sin if you don't see it!
Though I personally will probably go to see it at least one more time in the theater, in addition to buying the DVD. Mainly because I think it's a good idea to "vote with our pocketbooks" and let Hollywood know that this is the kind of movie we want to see more of - movies that take our Christian beliefs seriously.
