The Passion Surrounding The Passion of The Christ

By Vincent P. Cuccia

Not since Jesus Christ Superstar premiered has a portrayal of Jesus Christ’s last days stirred such wild emotions. Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ has been accused of refueling anti-Semitism. It has been hailed for bringing people “back to the fold.” It has been criticized as unnecessarily violent. It has been praised as realistic.

A&I wanted to find out what the leaders of the Italian American Community felt about this controversial film. Consequently, we polled several cultural and artistic leaders such as: Frank Gaurini, Chairman of the National Italian American Foundation: Mario Fratti, playwright: Gay Talese, author: Joseph Sciame, National President Order, Sons of Italy in America: B. Amore, founder of the Carving Studio and Sculpting Center, educator, and sculptor.

We asked three basic questions: What did you think of the film? What do you think the impact of this film will have on the Italian American community? And did this film differ from your perception of the Passion?

As with any community, the responses spanned the spectrum. Everyone polled spoke strongly about the violence in the film. Mario Fratti thought the film was an “exploitation of suffering, an exaggeration…a symbol of ferocity and hatred, not love.” Frank Gaurini said it possessed “unnecessary violence that was over emphasized. It looked too Hollywood. It commercialized the event rather than sanctified it” Gay Talese felt, although it was beautifully filmed, the violence had “no personality-one note violence. Spectacle with no suspense.” He found it “tedious.” However, B. Amore felt it was a “truer portrayal than anything I’d seen.” She continued: “It was a graphic depiction of how cruel humans can be.” Joseph Sciame, a vice president of a Catholic university, claimed, “Gibson has put before our eyes like never before the Passion of Christ. It is the most dramatic portrayal of what might have and did occur.”

When asked what impact is it having on the Italian American community, Mario Fratti said, “It will revive hatred for the Jews. It will remind Italian Americans that the Jews killed a Jew.” Gaurini felt that the film showed neither the Jews nor the Romans with any historical accuracy, and, therefore, “There was no impact on the community-the barbarity of the Romans was beyond credible. The laughing and the scoffing was not believable-it was over exaggerated and redundant.” Gay Talese initially felt there was no impact on the community, but then reconsidered. “(Gibson),” he continued, “could never compete for the Italian American movie goer with Coppola or Scorsese.” B. Amore admitted honestly that she could not “gauge” the impact of this film on the community. But she did feel, “the message is important today” because that kind of inhumanity “is still alive today-look at the newspaper.” “My family,” Sciame proudly claimed, “is from Prizzi, which is in the Province of Palermo…I’ve seen the procession-so for (Italians and Italian Americans) it’s always been dramatic. It is in my veins to have respect for the Passion and it reconfirms that respect for Italian Americans. I think they will be moved.”

Mario Fratti felt the film differed “completely’ from his perception of the Passion: “There was something beautiful about the death of Jesus (for me), and, now, (this film) makes me think of a butcher shop.” On the other side, B. Amore claimed, “When I compare Gibson’s film to the films and plays I saw in my Catholic school, his was in full color and theirs was in pastels.” Gay Talese had “no movie like perception of the Passion.” However, both Gaurini and Sciame said the depiction was close to their perceptions. Sciame went on further to say, “We can’t be revisionist about this. There was a Christ-we have proof of this. It was the story that I grew up with with some poetic license taken.

In a side note, Gay Talese was the only one to comment on the acting in the film. “It was as wooden as the cross itself…Mary (his mother) had the same glazed grimace for an hour and a half.” He commented, “I can not believe that the mother of Christ would just sit there and not show any emotions.” He concluded, “If she were a Calabrese woman, she would have screamed and chased the Romans. She would have thrown rocks at the Romans and the Jews.” Then he added, “What was up with Jesus’ family? At least the Sopranos know how to take care of their own.”

A&I chose these members of the community, because they are leaders. Their views certainly represent the various opinions within the Italian American community. But the other reason for the choice is that they are articulate, thoughtful, and sometimes humorous.