OK, I saw this this afternoon and I must agree, don't criticize or chastize this movie based one "the way I heard it", see it yourself. here's my take on things as a Christian and leader of my sr. high youth group.
First off, how the Jews are portrayed, yeah, they have nasty teeth, but so does pretty much every character in the film except maybe pilot, Everyone is dirty, not well kept, this is not a nice glossy typical hollywood film. Also, I think it comes through fairly well that it was the Jewish leadership of the time that was conniving, and NOT Jews in general. This is just how it was written in the Gospels, which is what Gibson based the movie from.
Now, on to Pilot, he is portrayed as a man who wrestles with how to handle the situation. In one scene he talks about "(his) truth" being about squelching uprisings and how if he condemns Jesus he may have His followers starting an uprising, but if he frees Him, those who wish Him condemnd may start an uprising. He is shown as finding no reason to condemn Jesus and leaving it to the crowd, again just as it's written in the Bible.
The violance- well, it's pretty well known this is a bloody, hard to watch film. The gore is akin to the opening sequence in Saving Private Ryan I'd say. The accuracy of the punishment is pretty good as well, from the little bit of study I've done on Crucifixion. The Romans are shown as brutal, laughing and joking as they lash Jesus with the Flagrum. I did sort of full body spasms almost every time they landed a blow, it's not an easy thing to watch, Mel didn't spare the audience when showing the reality of what the punsihments entailed.
Now for my few criticisms. First, it was weird for me jumping into the story in the garden of Gethsamane. Kind of like picking up Lord of the Ring about halfway through Return of the King. For those with little or no knowledge of Jesus, this movie doesn't give much of a look at who he was overall. Also, as I read in one review, He comes across as very stoic to me and not as human as I would like to think. yes he stumbles and cries out in pain, but theres just...something...missing there. Overall, I'd have to say it's a good movie, maybe not very enjoyable to watch, but quite powerful.
