Mel Gibson who after the crisis, out of heartfelt sympathy and closeness to the church and bible, created the film Passions of the Christ. And undoubtedly he’s paying a price for it since before the premiere of his film. He has been blacklisted from Hollywood. Even though for his 2016 film Hacksaw Ridge he was nominated for an Oscar, it was clear to him and everyone else that it was just an indication of behind curtain games being played for the media. Since he has no more a place in the industry, capitalism and the power of Hollywood.
It is a well-established fact, that the power structure, capitalism and manipulations in Hollywood and even in the US are in the hands of selected Jews. There is also a historical viewpoint that the Christians of any division (Protestant, Catholicism, Orthodox…) have the affinity to know the Jews to be the reason for the death of Jesus. This view in the historical paradigm has also existed in the minds and thoughts of great thinkers such as Hegel and Nietzsche. “In Soleimani Ardestani’s research, it shows the idea of the Jews being the murderers of Christ is still persistent in the western societies, one in four Americans believe that the Jews were the reason for the death of Christ. Such view can also be found among the Christian priests who are avid supporters of Israeli.”
Mel Gibson who is possibly not spared from this view, with ire and precision makes a film outside of the Hollywood structure in a different place Rome, with a budget of 30 million dollars from his own pocket, a different language (Hebrew and Latin), and out the norm of Hollywood without English dubbing.
Even though he had to go through the horrendous ordeals over the film in 2004 and even though his colleagues in the production of the film have not yet recovered from it, he has decided to make a sequel to the Passions of Christ with the adjunct name Resurrection and has presented the film to be cordiality towards the system of Hollywood and the Jews.
But the story seems to unfold as a jester who tells the truth clothed in comedy and was beaten by the people of power and pleads for another chance just to ridicule them even harsher after taking a breath. Seems that Mel Gibson wants to shoot his last shot in the half-ruined body of Hollywood and avenge every pain and scar conflicted on him by the citizens of the city of Angels.
It is worth mentioning that Mel Gibson is a follower of a church that is very vocal about its criticism of the liberal politics of the Vatican and the Pope. Even his father, Paul Gibson, has written a book called "Is the Pope Catholic?” and in his other book “Enemy Here” he concludes that the greatest adversaries of Christ can be found in the Christian world and specifically in the Vatican.
Gibson for the script of the first part used 2 less commonly known and old references. First was the book “The passions of our Lord Jesus Christ” by a nun named Anne Catherin Emmerich and the other was the handwritten notes of another nun named the Mary Agreda “Mystical City of God”. Benedict Fitzgerald – the passions of the Christ writer- based on Anne Catherin Emmerich wrote the original script. But in the new film, Mel has reunited with Randal Wallace, with whom he had collaborated before on the Brave Heart. James Caviezel will reprise his role as Jesus. Mel Gibson will produce the film, and in an interesting turn of events, all the cast and crew of the first film will also take part in the sequel.
Achievements of the first part of the Passions of the Christ
When the company heads and the Jewish executives of the studios realized Mel Gibson’s intention to make Passions of the Christ, first they came in with friendly gestures and talks. But after reading the script and having talked with Mel Gibson they completely changed their tunes on the final days of preproduction preparations. And in many meetings, they have bluntly asked for many changes to the script offering 100% investment for the budget of the film.
But Mel Gibson refused, the biggest heads of studios in Holly Wood who happened to be Jewish and also the head of the film regulation institute of the US told him that by making the script he will lose their support in every aspect of making the film. Furthermore, they would refuse to give him distribution in the U.S.
After all the intimidation, it granted the Hollywood CEOs permission for Mel Gibson to read the script. After a complete attack on the script where they outlined any phrase or sentence that felt uncomfortable for them, Mel Gibson again refused their changes and got into heated discussions over every single one of their points and eventually made the original written script. But for the distribution, he made only one change. He agreed to omit one line in the film. Where the Christ is under brutal torture, one of the Jewish elders utters these words:
“Let the blood of Christ be spilt upon our children’s hands…”
Truly, that’s all… After this only alteration, Mel Gibson was allowed to get an R rating (preserved for practically pornographic, anti-moral and violent films) for the distribution of the film in the U.S. without any permission to shoot in the U.S. and no support or advertisement.
While during his acting career, Mel Gibson was an unbridled and hot-tempered start, during his directing years he has become introverted and thoughtful. But residual of that rebellion is still ablaze in the depth of his films’ meaning.
It can be said that before the Passions of Christ, Mel Gibson was one of Hollywood’s greatest actors, a consultant for Warner’s and Paramount, and one of its most bankable stars. But after the film, he became an outcast from the Hollywood industry; a symbol of violence and alcoholism, and a rotten influence on the U.S. Someone with horrible family life abuses his wife and beats his young girlfriend. A psycho who is now Mel Gibson.
But the real Mel Gibson is just a faithful Christian, with deep and powerful thoughts; and according to him, not a complete anti-Semite. But he still refuses to dismiss the marks of the Jews influence in the history and present day.
After 18 years of making the film, which to this day made him an outcast; to the extent of not receiving invitations for award shows or even being mentioned, to the extent that if picked for a project other cast and crew would threaten to walk out and quitting, which was put to test on the set of Hangover 2, where he was offered a short role for which the crew demonstrated a walkout.
Not only Gibson himself has suffered such reactions but also the scriptwriter of the film Benedict Fitzgerald and most of the crew including but not limited to the film’s composer John Debney, cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, or even James Caviezel, have suffered. None of them has a real place in Hollywood in this film. A film which if it was made upon personal beliefs, and not the Bible and faith, has proven the deep scars and the truth of the words of Mel Gibson and his crew.
In any case, the rebelliousness Mel Gibson has made his point and not only that he made a valuable, turmoil and meaningful film.
One could argue that you could find the root of being human in this; at a certain time defend a meaningful and great word and not be discouraged by the possible fallouts, cause life is short. Mel Gibson, certainly, has prevailed in this concept and had a resurrection equivalent to an industry, bloodline, and history.
By making this film he let the Jewish community to hang themselves by tearing him apart.
Maybe some comparisons could be found between Mel Gibson’s life and that of his famous portrayal of William Wallace. All in all, Mel Gibson is a true family man. Untainted, trustworthy and loving. He very well might be the last of faithful filmmakers of the cinema.
His latest film “The passions of Christ: Resurrection” will be released in February 2024.
By: Behzad Asadi, Filmmaker and Philosophy of Art student at Tehran north Azad University with associate Pantea Farsijani