Forget the Matrix-colored glasses; now it’s time to look at films in terms of good old-fashioned medieval religion. Apparently, The Passion of Christ was prophesied as far back as Mad Max 3. In the Voice, Jessica Winters follows a trail of little mustard seeds through twenty years of Mel Gibson’s films, which leads to the actor/director/producer’s longtime-coming Messiah Complex. It makes for sinfully entertaining reading. If Gibson didn’t already think I’m damned to hell for being Mormon, I’d be quaking in my spiritual boots for daring to question his piety.
[While I’m on the subject, when, exactly, did shooting wrap on The Passion? Sometime before the screenings Frank Rich didn’t get invited to, right? And when, exactly, did James Caviezel get struck by lightning on the set? Then why, exactly, is this getting reported now? Is Gibson actually God-baiting as well as Jew-baiting in the name of publicity?]