People love to watch movies. They let us laugh, cry, and escape to a fantasy world. Films can also depict historical events. Many people have favorite movies, and there are many popular ones, such as Indiana Jones, The Breakfast Club, and Toy Story, and while those movies are fine, they are not my favorite movie. My favorite movie is The Passion of the Christ, directed by Mel Gibson, and it is a 2004 film that shows the betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus Christ in great detail. The movie is very powerful, and it makes me think about how much Jesus suffered for our sins, by showing the sheer brutality the Romans used while torturing our Lord. Since Good Friday is coming up in a couple of days, I decided that I wanted to discuss why I think this movie is the greatest film of all time.

The first reason I think this is the greatest film is because of how faithful it is to history. Many historical movies simply have the characters speaking in English, because the movies are made for an American, or English speaking in general, audience. But The Passion of the Christ stays faithful to history, and has everyone, from Jesus, to Pontius Pilate, and even Judas speaking in either Aramaic, Hebrew, or Latin, the languages that were spoken back in ancient Rome, during the time of Jesus. This gives the film an extra layer of authenticity, as you are able to hear how the Lord and all of the disciples talked during the time, and it makes the film even more realistic. Obviously, the film has subtitles, so the English speaking audience would know what is going on. 

Another reason I think the film is such an amazing film is because of how many historical sources it draws from. One of the main sources the movie draws from is The Holy Bible, particularly, the four Canonical Gospels, as well as Old Testament books, such as Genesis and Isaiah. While these books were the primary sources of the film, others were used as well, such as iconography (such as the 14 Stations of the Cross) and Church tradition (such as the two thieves crucified next to Jesus). Another key source used were Catholic devotions and writings. By using all of these historical writings and pictures, the director of the film, Mel Gibson, was able to make a clean, fleshed out, and highly accurate depiction of the crucifixion of our Lord.

The acting and special effects in the movie are, in my opinion, why this movie is the greatest movie of all time. Jim Caviezel, the actor who portrays Jesus Christ, does a brilliant job of portraying Jesus, from him telling parables to the disciples, to the Agony in the Garden, and until the meat of the movie, the brutal crucifixion of our Lord. He is able to give the scene so much emotion, as he is beaten, spat on, and abused by the Romans. And when he was up there, on the cross, he brought tears to my eyes, as he gave his last breath and died. The special effects in the movie also make the scenes very emotional. Watching Jesus be flayed and whipped gives us a visual representation of Jesus atoning for our sins, something that people take for granted. When Jesus is on the cross, beaten and bloody, we are able to see how much Jesus suffered for us. The highly realistic effects make the movie very intense, and they allow us to see how much the Lord loved us.

All of these key components are why I consider The Passion of the Christ to be the greatest movie of all time, and with the sequel coming out, about the Resurrection, I am sure that Mel Gibson will produce another masterpiece.