The main action in The Passion of the Christ involves a man being beaten, mutilated, tortured, impaled, and finally executed. The film is difficult to watch, so much so that some critics have labeled it offensive, even sadistic, for fetishizing violence. But did you know that Mel Gibson did not want to add subtitles to the film?
Despite the fact that The Passion of the Christ is entirely in Latin, Hebrew, and Aramaic, Mel Gibson originally intended for the film to have no subtitles.
Portraying Jesus Christ in the Film
Jim Caviezel appeared to be the ideal choice to play Jesus Christ. You may not have known that he suffered a shoulder separation when the 130-pound cross was dropped onto his shoulder. That scene is still included in the film.
That was a significant cross. It was most likely more than half the size of a typical Jewish man. It took tremendous inner strength for Jesus to bear such a burden after being severely scourged with a cat-o-nine whip, hit in the head with a reed, pressed with a crown of thorns, and abandoned by all of his friends.
Jim did it with a separated shoulder; we’re sure he didn’t make the entire journey, but the pain on his face during that scene would have been palpable.
Jim did it with a separated shoulder; we’re sure he didn’t make the entire journey, but the pain on his face during that scene would have been palpable.
Jim was accidentally whipped twice during the scourging scene. The first one knocked him out. The second time hurt so much that he yanked his hands free from the shackles, scraping his hand badly.
Ouch! Rewatch the movie and see if you can figure out when that whip hit its target. The facial expression will be significantly different if not amplified. It’s not a bad experience because the Bible says that if we suffer with Christ, we will also reign with Him. The only difference is that instead of just two, Jesus took all thirty-nine.
During his makeup, Jim received a prosthetic nose and a raised hairline. In the film, his blue eyes are changed to brown. We used to think Jesus had blue eyes. Now, where did we get that insane idea? What historical evidence do we have that His eyes were indeed brown?
Mel wanted to transform the actor into the closest representation of Jesus they could find. We’d seen a lot of versions over the years, but this was one of the best. We’ve seen Jim in other films, but we’re grateful that his portrayal of Jesus was very different from the villain he played in the Harry Potter series. (Source: Belief Network)
Were There Miracles on Set?
Mel Gibson went on and on about the numerous miracles that occurred to the cast and crew while filming. In an interview, Gibson revealed that there had been some unusual events on the set. People were healed of diseases, their sight and hearing were restored, and the greatest of all, they were saved.
One little six-year-old girl with epilepsy was the daughter of someone connected with the crew. She has experienced up to 50 epileptic seizures per day. She was apparently close to being cured of her condition, as she had no fits or seizures for more than a month after the film was released. It was also reported that she is coping much better with her condition. (Source: Belief Network)