Don’t listen to any of the people who have attacked Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. Yes, it is violent: extremely violent. I’m not entirely sure if it’s quite as violent as some have made it out to be. For example, I have a hard time believing that it’s the most violent film that Roger Ebert has ever seen: I know for a fact that Roger Ebert has seen the vile Last House on the Left (Wes Craven’s first film which, among other things, graphically depicts intestines being dragged out of a human body) and I Spit on Your Grave, an execrable film which features a gang rape scene which runs for nearly a third of the movie. I’m not even sure if The Passion is much more violent than the opening minutes of Saving Private Ryan.

In part I think that the fuss over the violence of the film is a result of nitpicking critics who were never going to approve of the film anyways. The Newsweek film critic who launched one of the most extended attacks on the violence of the film praised The Dreamers at length: a film which features heavy incestuous themes and features a scene in which the blood of a girl who has just lost her virginity is smeared on her forehead. This is not to deny that the violence in the film is deeply moving and disturbing and that it needs to be that way: it is, after all, a film about the crucifixion! Frankly, I suspect that the violence meme will be picked up and passed on because a lot of people who are going to see this film are people who haven’t seen a Hollywood film in years. Certainly, the vast majority of the people who see it will not be familiar with some of the other truly violent films which have been released in recent years.

Some people have dubbed the violence in the film “pornographic.” This is an absurdity. Violence is “pornographic” when it serves no purpose but to titillate when violence is served up, as it is in many modern movies, simply to amuse. That is definitively not the case here. How was Mel Gibson to tell the story of the Passion without truly showing the sort of suffering endured by Christ? The Passion of the Christ truly conveys the scale of the horror in a way I would have not thought possible. Though, in many ways, the scope of the violence is less than can be found elsewhere it is affecting because it brings to life in a nearly unimaginable way a story with which we are all familiar.

Others have attacked this film (since and before its release) for supposed “anti-Semitism.” This is an absurd libel against the movie. Anyone watching the film with their brain engaged will understand several things. First, Christ had to die: his death was foreordained. It was demanded by his existence. That is why Christ submits rather than resists: it was inevitable. Second, the “Jews” didn’t kill Christ, some Jews and Romans did. For every Jew we see in the mob, there is another that is a disciple of Christ, who stands up for him in the temple, or who offers sympathy or assistance along the way. The real “villains” of the film are the sadistic Roman soldiers who cheerfully and brutally whip and scour Jesus. But even the Roman soldiers are not universally evil: several clearly regret their duty, while others are merely carrying out a routine task.

I’m not a film reviewer, so I don’t plan on addressing the artistic merits of the film at any length. The performances in this movie are very strong. But this is something that you really must see to truly understand. The film is a transcendental experience, something that cannot be adequately described.

This, I believe, is the one film of recent years which will still be widely known and watched half a century from now. After all, does anyone really believe that people will still care about American Beauty, Chicago, or A Beautiful Mind in 2054? Perhaps the Lord of the Rings films will still be widely known, though I’m not all that certain. This is a special film, an exceptional film. It is probably a one-of-a-kind thing.

Mel Gibson took exceptional risks in making this film, and he deserves to reap exceptional rewards for it. The film has already made back its entire production budget in a single day: it will make back the costs of advertising and distribution (and then some) today. By the end of the week, it may gross as much as $100 million. It did $27 million on Wednesday, should do at least $15 million today, perhaps $25 million on Friday, $20 million on Saturday, and who knows how much on Sunday. Contrary to traditional pattern, this film may have a massive Sunday: probably the biggest in the history of film. Once the movie has been shown worldwide and released on video, DVD and cable, I would not be at all shocked if Mel Gibson became a billionaire.

The only downside I see to this is that now other studios will jump in and probably fail. This is a movie which is successful only because it has been made with great love and care.

Go see this movie. Even if you don’t think it’s quite your thing. Go see it. You will regret it if you do not.