The Passion of the Christ
This is a difficult movie to talk about. I suppose that's appropriate, since it was a difficult movie to watch. There are several scenes that have apparently been burned into my brain and keep popping into my consciousness at random points during the day. You're going to reflect on this movie whether you want to or not.
It's hard to separate the "movie" from the "experience". The movie was very well done, and it's really great that they kept the Aramaic and Latin, which created a much more immersive experience. Yes, the movie is extremely violent, and at first I thought it was gratuitously excessive. But after some reflection I've come to the conclusion that it was appropriate and needed, to break down the barriers many of us have built up to violence portrayed in movies. It's a very different kind of violence; Jay Leno (of all people) supposedly said (I haven't found the exact quote) that when Jesus was hit it felt like we were being hit as opposed to other violent movies were you feel like you are the one doing the hitting. That's a good description. Like I said, this was a hard movie to watch, but in the end I feel enriched having seen it.