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The Passion of the Christ

The Passion of the Christ came out in 2004. It was directed and produced by Mel Gibson. Jim Caviezel played Jesus in the film and Monica Bellucci plays Mary Magdelene. The film borrows straight from the bible and depicts Jesus in the same light as the Christian Bible’s New Testament Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

In The Passion of the Christ we journey with Jesus though the last twelve hours of Jesus’ life. This commences with the Agony in the Garden and ends with his resurrection. During this time, we are treated to flashbacks of the child Jesus as a child, his time as a carpenter, the Sermon on the Mount, when he saved Mary Magdalene as well as the Last Supper.

To maintain authenticity, the film’s entire dialogue is in Aramaic, Latin, and Hebrew. As no one would actually understand this, the film is subtitled in English. The man responsible for this is Fr. William J. Fulco, a Jesuit professor of ancient Mediterranean studies at Loyola Marymount University. He was involved in the film’s production process from start to finish, translating the original English script into the ancient languages and also ensuring the theological accuracy of the film.

From the moment it was released it was under no doubt that The Passion of the Christ would be a hit. It ended up grossing more than $600 million to become the highest grossing non-English language film of all time.
In a documentary about what went into The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson has been quoted as saying, “This is a movie about love, hope, faith, and forgiveness. He [Jesus] died for all mankind, suffered for all of us. It’s time to get back to that basic message. The world has gone nuts. We could all use a little more love, faith, hope, and forgiveness.”
Explaining his cameo in the film, a brief appearance as the person whose hands nail Jesus to the cross, he says, “It was me that put Him on the cross. It was my sins.”

The Passion of the Christ was produced independently and filmed in Italy at Cinecittà Studios in Rome and at Matera. Mel Gibson funded the project himself, including the $30 million production cost and $15 million marketing costs. Timing is key, and The Passion of the Christ was released on Ash Wednesday, February 25, 2004.

The Passion of the Christ is a post from: Monica Bellucci

Techniques of Irréversible

2002 French film Irréversible is practically a one-man production as it was written, directed, photographed, as well as edited by Gaspar Noé. The cast includes Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel in starring roles. Irréversible made some serious waves when it came out as with several reviewers reviling it as one of the most disturbing and controversial films to come out that year. The film, which tells the story of a brutal rape and its consequences, uses non-linear narrative to tell the story. There are a total of thirteen scenes in the film. The soundtrack too is disturbing and has been composed by French electronic musician Thomas Bangalter from Daft Punk.

Irréversible didn’t get just stones and brickbats. The film was awarded the “Bronze Horse” award at the Stockholm Film Festival and was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival we well. It as also voted “Best Foreign Language Award” by the Film Critics Circle of Australia as well as the San Diego Film Critics Society.
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In Irréversible we live through one traumatic night in Paris with the main characters. Around the middle of the film the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten up by a violent criminal in an underpass. Her boyfriend and ex-lover are enjoying themselves at a party across the road in the meantime. They are under the influence of drugs and alcohol and decide to take matters into their own hands. They take the help of two criminals to find the rapist so that they can beat him up. The film is a harsh yet evocative treatise on the destructive nature of cause and effect.

The camera used to shoot Irréversible was a widescreen 16mm process. Though each of the 13 scenes look like a single shot scene, in fact they were shot in multiple takes and then edited closely into one seamless scene. Where required, digital imagery was used as well. Another technique used was to insert low-frequency sound into the first part of the film where the most disturbing events, such as the nine minute long rape scene, occur. This has been scientifically proven to make viewers uncomfortable and uneasy.

Techniques of Irréversible is a post from: Monica Bellucci