As an agnostic-atheist, I thought The Passion of the Christ was incredibly touching and moving. I see this film being about a mother's love for her anguished son and his sacrifice for humanity. You really don't have to believe in the divinity of Christ in order to enjoy this film. As for its moving nature, the film gave me the same emotions that 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Dune' did. It just had this epic vibe and monumental aura. I would've gone far and given this a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars. Mel Gibson is a very talented filmmaker.

One of the most unique things about this film is the characters speaking Aramaic. As someone who speaks Assyrian (a modern Aramaic language), I thought the Aramaic language was accurate as we understood some words here and there. Regarding the characters, they were all portrayed by a talented European cast. Maia Morgenstern, who portrayed Mary, should have gotten an Oscar nomination. Jim Caviezel, an actor that generally seems wooden in other movies, was very naturalistic and compelling as Jesus.

The music was the best thing about this film. John Debney really knows how to create poignant, emotional music. I can't imagine this film without Debney's music (maybe, just maybe Zimmer would've been as good). The score is truly one of the best pieces of music I've ever listened to.

As for antisemitism, I do not see it, and this is coming from a staunch supporter of Israel (in light of the Israel-Hamas war). This film showed that there were good Jews and bad Jews. Every nation and ethnicity in the world has good and bad, terrible people. The Romans were also depicted as being despicable, heartless savages (i.e. The soldiers), but of course other Romans were depicted as compassionate and humble (Pilate, his wife Claudia and the Roman soldier who later believed in Christ). So everything was evened out. I never understood the fuss.

The violence was indeed very graphic. But need not worry, you can always view The Passion Recut, an edited version where 5 minutes of the strong violence is omitted. The Blu-Ray has that version. I watch 'Recut' every Easter. It is actually pleasant to watch due to its more temperate nature, and it flows pretty well. My only complain with the film was the demonic children chasing Judas. I think those scenes were too elaborate and protracted, and Gibson did not have to dwell on them, as they bordered the comical.

Having avoided this film during its cinema release - partially thru fear as to whether I would be able to handle the violence etc I did eventually catch this on DVD. Bye the way - I write this as a non-religious person. The film was very watchable, never boring and Caviezel was superb in the main role. Your heart really went out to him - even as a "non-believer". I have to say that after all the acres of print I had read about the violence and bloodshed in the film, I actually felt it was rather less nasty than I may have feared. Certainly more visceral than, King of Kings, Greatest Story ever Told etc, a lot of the worst scenes took place in slow motion, off camera etc which somehow did make things easier to stomach. I can imagine if Mike Leigh or Ken Loach had made this it would have been far more unpleasant!

Powerful, moving, even if you don't actually "buy" the central storyline. Jim C truly looks as if he has gone thru hell. Respect is due - to him and all.

I think that the final few moments, segueing into the closing credits would have been quite something to experience in a full cinema!

I can't believe I didn't write a review after seeing this, but I must have incorrectly presumed I did. With so many other reviewers by now, I'll make my points as brief as possible.

GOOD - Kudos for someone finally presenting an accurate account of Christ's sufferings, as gruesome and horrible as they were, although, if you read the Gospel accounts in the Bible, it was even worse than shown on this film. Jesus' face was beaten to a pulp and "unrecognizable" so keep that in mind if you think the film overdid the beatings. However, the overall effect is that there isn't anything sanitized in this film; it's an according-to-the-Book account and after you see this on film, it shakes you up.

I heard that people were so stunned they couldn't speak for about a half hour after coming out of the theaters. I thought that was probably exaggerated, but it wasn't. I felt the same way, just stunned at what I had witnessed. As a Believer, it was something I needed to see to remind me of what this God-in the flesh human voluntarily went through. For non-Believers, scoffers or whatever, I don't know what your reaction was to the film but for me, it was a humbling, sobering experience.

THE BAD - The unrelenting brutality against Jesus the last three-quarters of this film is so bad that, frankly, I would hesitate before ever watching this again. One viewing is enough. I am amazed so many people sat through this, including Christians. I wish director/producer Mel Gibson had shown more of Christ's resurrection instead of centering 99 percent of this movie on his suffering, although I understand Mel's point. However, all of Jesus' claims and sufferings are meaningless without the resurrection, so why not emphasize that instead of just tacking it on for the last minute or two? Just asking.

It's a cliché, but this is a film you won't soon forget, but I would add to that, one you probably won't want to watch multiple times.