So I saw it, and all I can say is wow.
It was funny, because James called me right after he saw it on opening day and I asked him if it was a good movie. And he responded with “that isn’t the right question to ask,” and I was sorta annoyed with that because sometimes he has a tendency to not answer my questions but just pose a different question (I’m not knocking you James, it just did sorta annoy me at the time). But after I got out of the movie, I totally got that it wasn’t one of those things….cuz that really is a bad question to ask. It is more like “what part moved you,” or “which character did you associate with the most?” So James was totally right, the thing isn’t just a movie. It is an experience. (I borrowed that from Roger Ebert) At any rate, I apologize to James for being annoyed with him, because Wow, I was really jaw dropped at some parts, and even now after three hours of being out of the movie my chest is still a little tight with emotions, so I had no right to assume I understood what an impact this could have. I mean, I prepared, I heard all the stories about how powerful it was, but this worked on me in two hours what entire week long work trips didn’t do, and what weekend long spirit filled conferences did in my life.
Briefly before I hit the sack I will answer the questions I posed as being better questions.
I was moved in a lot of different parts, the garden of Gethsemane was a great scene, well shot, and somewhat impacting…showed a wonderfully human Jesus, but I was really moved (at first) by the scene where Peter denies Jesus in the temple after they try him for blaspheme. And to answer the second question, I most associated with Peter, because I really feel like I deny Christ sometimes, and I definitely have my foot in my mouth a whole lot, and I believe that God can work in me a mighty change that makes me able to speak more clearly and do miraculous things the same way he took Peters foot out of his mouth and made him one of the greatest church leaders ever.
If you are holding out just cuz you want the hype or the crowds to die down, go now, because the crowds are gone mostly, and if you are being one of those indy type people who think it is over hyped and you are being generally cynical about it, go see it with your defenses down. Let the message work in you, not the particulars about how they nailed his hands and not his wrists, or whatever…because this is the best depiction of the physical aspect of Jesus suffering you will probably ever see, and the particulars aren’t the point….and honestly does the nail hurt more in the hands or wrists….I mean they both hurt like hell, so what difference does it make in the point they want to convey. (I’m just using that thing because I heard a lot about it being a point of contention, so I thought it made an example…but generally speaking it is easy to ignore minor points like that)
Anyway, goodnight people, I have a lot of thinking to do, so I’ll see most of you tomorrow.