Easter Movies

Of all the movies that could possibly be associated with Easter, Mel Gibson’s epic “The Passion of the Christ” is undoubtedly the most famous – or, some would argue, infamous.

The film, made in 2004, details the final events of Jesus’ life – from his arrest to his execution. These events are taken directly from the bible, and are commonly referred to as “The Passion” – from which the film takes its name.

While there have been numerous Easter movies about the trial and crucifixion of Jesus, ‘The Passion of the Christ’ took things a step further. First and foremost, the dialogue is conducted entirely in Aramaic – the original language spoken in Bible times, which has since died out. As a result, the film had to be subtitled.

However, the main difference from usual Easter movies was the violence that the film portrayed. Jesus the character is shown first being brutally flogged, and then his execution on the cross is particularly difficult to watch. Gibson claimed the excessive amounts of blood and other cruel scenes were done to show what Jesus really suffered through, so that people could understand and appreciate the meaning of Easter.

While Gibson’s intentions may have been good, the violent scenes nevertheless do not make family-friendly viewing at Easter time. There are also accusations of anti-Semitism within the film, and historians have criticised the usage of poorly-constructed Aramaic.

For a more cheerful Easter movie that also depicts the Passion of Christ (in it’s own way), one option is “Monty Python’s Life of Brian”. This lighthearted Easter movie switches Jesus from the starring role, and introduces an unknown named “Brian” as the central character in the crucifixion story – and is well worth watching.