“The Passion of the Christ” is a movie directed by Mel Gibson in 2004. It focuses on the final twelve hours of Jesus’ life, including when he comes back to life. This film is special because it’s in Latin and Aramaic, trying to show Jesus’ life in a different way. However, some people didn’t like it because it strongly emphasizes religion and shows biblical events in a dramatic way. Even though it made a lot of money worldwide, more than $400 million, some criticized it for its violent scenes and said it posed a negative view of Jewish people.
Jim Caviezel, who portrayed Jesus in the movie, faced several challenges during its production. He attributed a series of unfortunate events to the film, claiming that offers for other roles dwindled, and he became an outcast in Hollywood. The challenges on set included filming in extremely cold conditions, leading to near-hypothermia, as well as suffering from pneumonia and a lung infection. Caviezel also endured injuries during the filming of the whipping scene, where a hidden post caused him pain, and he dislocated his shoulder while carrying a heavy crucifix.
In one scene, a heavy cross weighing 130 pounds fell on Caviezel’s shoulder, causing a separation. The scene remained in the movie. The cross was very heavy, perhaps more than half the weight of an average Jewish man. Jesus had already gone through a lot, such as being whipped, hit on the head, and having thorns pressed into his head. All his friends had left him. Caviezel acted with a separated shoulder. While filming almost naked in frigid conditions, the actor nearly suffered hypothermia and succeeded in getting a lung infection and pneumonia.
A study found that about 240,000 people get struck by lightning every year. This doesn’t happen very often. But in 2003, during the making of The Passion of the Christ, it happened three times.
The lead actor, Jim Caviezel, said that he felt like a Christmas tree when he got struck by lightning while filming the Sermon on the Mount scene. He even knew it was going to happen about four seconds before it did. He shared this experience with The 700 Club, saying, “I thought, ‘I’m going to get hit.’ And when it happened, I saw the extras grab the ground.”
Caviezel said that after the lightning hit him, fire came out of his head, and his body glowed. The cameras hadn’t reached him yet. “When the cameras reached me,” Caviezel remembered, “I heard Mel shouting, ‘What happened to his hair?’ I looked like I had gone to see Don King’s hair stylist.”
Caviezel was not the only person who got hit by lightning while filming The Passion. “After I got hit, Jon Mikalini, an assistant, came over and asked if I was okay. Then, he got hit too. The difference was that they saw the lightning hit Jon. All I felt was a big slap on my ears and saw pink and red static in front of my eyes for a few seconds.”
Surprisingly, it wasn’t the first time the assistant director got hit while working. According to BBC News, Mikalini had been struck by lightning before when it hit his umbrella. Thankfully, he only got minor burns on his fingertips. Can you believe the chances of that happening? It’s extremely rare, with odds of 1 in 11,728,889,000,000 if you live in the United States.
During the filming of The Passion of the Christ, they had a hidden whipping post set up behind Jim Caviezel. However, there was a problem. One of the actors who was supposed to be whipping Jim didn’t have a great aim when swinging the whip. Jim Caviezel explained that the lash went beyond the board and hit him really hard, making it difficult for him to breathe. He said it felt like having the wind knocked out of him, and the pain was so bad that he couldn’t catch his breath.
Caviezel was not happy. He said, “I turned around and looked at the guy, and I tell you, I may be playing Jesus, but I felt like Satan at that moment… a couple of bad words came out of my mouth.” Unfortunately, shortly after that, Caviezel accidentally got another hit. Playing the role of Jesus isn’t as easy as it seems.
Caviezel had a tough time making the movie. He got hit by lightning, got a few lashes in the wrong place, and even hurt his shoulder while carrying a really heavy cross in the film. The cross he had to carry weighed 150 pounds, and it felt even heavier as the day went on, according to Caviezel.
Miracles that happened on set
Mel Gibson talked a lot about weird incidents that happened while making the movie. In an interview, Gibson said some unusual events occurred on set. Some of the amazing things that happened were people getting better from illnesses, getting their sight and hearing back, and most importantly, finding salvation. There was a little six-year-old girl, whose parent worked on the movie crew. She had epilepsy since she was born and used to have up to 50 seizures every day. After the movie came out, she seemed to be almost cured. She didn’t have any seizures for more than a month. It was also said that she was dealing with her condition much better.
Filming the movie “The Passion of the Christ” had a significant effect on many people involved. The set of the film became a place where people talked about their faith. Father John Bartunek, a priest on set, said that everyone felt comfortable discussing spiritual things. He compared himself to a lightning rod for these conversations, but he didn’t actually get struck by lightning.
Because of their experiences during the making of the film, many actors and crew members decided to become Christians (specifically, Catholics) after the movie was done. Even an Atheist actor, Luca Lionello, who played the role of Judas Iscariot, converted to Christianity.
Being in a film and playing a character with a lot of flaws, like Judas, can lead to finding salvation. The impact of the finished movie on those who watch it could be significant, making a positive difference in their lives.
An actor named Luca Lionello, who used to call himself an “angry atheist,” changed his beliefs while working on a film. He played the role of Judas. Towards the end of making the movie, Lionello started considering the film’s main character as his lord and savior. He even went for confession, and it seems the whole experience had a big impact on him. He baptized his children, made his marriage sacred, and returned to the Church.
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Mel Gibson wanted to make a sequel called ‘The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection,’ even though there were some challenges. It was supposed to be released in 2022. The actor Caviezel, who was in the first movie, also said he will be in the next part. He believed it would be the “biggest film in history” and hinted that it would be done in a unique and special way.
Gibson, however, faced personal controversies. He faced legal problems because of issues with alcohol, and in 2006, he was arrested for driving under the influence. He also made comments that offended Jewish people and said bad things about the LGBT community, which made people criticize him even more. The film was already causing controversy because of its violent scenes, historical mistakes, and accusations of being anti-Jewish.
Now, there’s talk about a sequel to the movie that will explore a question about the three days before Jesus came back to life. This has the potential to create more controversy. Some people wonder if Gibson’s personal beliefs affected the first movie, making it controversial.
The Passion of the Christ was criticized for not being accurate to the Bible, having historical errors, and portraying Jewish characters in a bad way. Some say the violence in the film was too much and distracted from its message about redemption. People have different opinions on whether accidents on the movie set were just accidents or if something more mysterious was happening.
As everyone waits for the sequel, the controversies from the first movie are still being talked about. People discuss faith, how art is interpreted, and whether personal beliefs should affect movies. We’ll have to see if the sequel faces similar challenges, adding more mystery to this interesting Hollywood story.
