The Passion of the Christ -

Sometime around the year A.D. 30, in the Roman province of Palestine, an obscure Jewish carpenter named Jesus of Nazareth began to teach publicly and to proclaim the coming of a 'Kingdom of God.' For centuries, the Jewish people had expected the appearance of a promised deliverer known as the Messiah --a figure who would restore their ancient dignity, and free their sacred homeland from all evil and despair. In the minds of many, Jesus appeared to be this Messiah.

Surrounded by a core group of twelve disciples, Jesus began to attract a massive following from among the common people of Galilee and Judea, who eventually praised him as their Messiah and King. However, Jesus also had many enemies in Jerusalem. The Sanhedrin, a governing senate composed of the leading Jewish priests and Pharisees, conspired to put Jesus to death.

With the aid of Judas Iscariot, a member of Jesus' own inner circle, the Sanhedrin succeeded in arresting Jesus, handing him over to the Roman secular authorities on unsubstantiated charges of treason against Rome. Although Jesus consistently maintained that his Kingdom was a heavenly and spiritual one, the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate, faced with the possibility of a riot, ordered that Jesus be taken outside the city and crucified as a common criminal.

Movie information

Release Date (USA):	2004-02-25
Rating (USA):	R
Release Date (UK):	-
Rating (UK) :
Director:	Mel Gibson
Producer:	Bruce Davey, Stephen McEveety and Mel Gibson
Studio:	Icon Productions
Writer/s:	Benedict Fitzgerald and Mel Gibson

Cast

James Caviezel	Jesus Christ
Maia Morgenstern	Mary
Monica Bellucci	Mary Magdalene
Francesco Cabras	Gesmas
Rosalinda Celentano	Satan
Claudia Gerni	Pilatus Wife
Ivano Marescotti	Pilatus
Sergin Rubini	Dismas
Hristo Jiukov	John