"The Passion of The Christ" is a retelling of the last twelve hours of Jesus’ life; a composite based on the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The film is written by director/producer Mel Gibson with Benedict Fitzgerald. Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Christ and Christ’s crucifixion is a familiar story to nearly everyone, no matter what your religious belief. "The Passion," Latin for suffering also means a transcendent love. This film is heavy on the suffering.

Aramaic, an ancient language, closely related to Hebrew, is spoken in the film by the Jewish characters, including Christ and his disciples, and the actors learned to speak it phonetically. The Roman soldiers speak a "street Latin."

Darkness and shadow shroud the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prays and wrestles with the specters of evil and betrayal, which lead to his capture and the brutality that will continue throughout the remainder of the film.

Evil is personified by a pale, androgynous figure, Satan, which creeps in and out of the the consciousness of Christ while he is in the garden, and later it appears to taunt Mary as her son Jesus is tortured as he carries the weight of the cross to his crucifixion. One of the controversies leveled at the film is that it is anti- Semitic, and this Satanic presence also appears moving silently among the Jewish leaders, but not within the ranks of Pontius Pilate or the Roman soldiers. And Christ seems to exonerate Pilate as he utters to him, "Those who delivered me to you have the greater sin."

Juxtaposed against the darkness of Gethsemane, where Jesus is betrayed by Judas, the cruelest brutalities are done in the harsh light of day, the savagery captured with terrifying ferocity by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel ("The Right Stuff," "The Patriot"). Unrelenting atrocities by the Roman soldiers, with scourging, using a metal tipped flogging whip, flays Jesus’ skin from the bone. His tumultuous struggle carrying the cross to Calvary, and the agonizing horror of the nailing of Jesus to the cross, all continue for the over two hour length of the film. I think that Mel Gibson wants us to bear witness for this brief time to Christ’s sacrifice for all time. That said, I found the film overwrought and a test of my ability not to close my eyes to the violent images on screen. Yet, I was oddly dispassionate in my heart’s response. Perhaps there weren’t enough moments when I could recover my own humanity between the ravishment and inhumanity I witnessed. The few scenes of Jesus’ earlier life, meant to serve as a buffer, a respite, seemed forced. This is definitely not a film for children.

As I watched Maia Morgenstern, as Jesus’ mother Mary, and Monica Bellucci, who portrays Mary Magdalene, I kept thinking of the old spiritual, "O Mary Don’t You Weep or Mourn." That was the extent of their presence here, to weep and wash the blood soaked stones. Morgenstern is a prominent Romanian actress, with a powerfully expressive face, and Bellucci is a stunning actress who delivers amazing performances (as in "Malena" and "Irreversible"). Their roles could have been much more charismatic and effective.

My belief is that anyone who goes to see this film has a pre conceived notion of what they will see. You know what you believe or don’t believe. Often that’s put to the test when you have a challenge in life or a crisis in faith.

Joe Simpson, a climber in the mountain rescue docu-drama, "Touching the Void," is a non-believer. He recalls in ‘Void’ that he wondered if he’d call out to God in despair when he thought he was about to die. He did not.

Several large pre screenings of "The Passion" were held for religious groups around the country, including one in the theater next to a screening for critics two days before the movie’s release. Some critics who are critical of the film have received…let’s call them "blistering rebukes" (or hate mail) from theists, who are fans of "The Passion." I guess it’s because they feel this is The Word. Wrong…it’s a movie. And where is that transcendent love?