Heavy clouds dominating the skies, Ash Wednesday was the perfect day for the opening of one of the most controversial movies ever made: director Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.”

Members of churches were buying tickets in bulk, as people flocked to see if the movie was really violent or not. People wanted to know what everyone was talking about.

Many people who have seen this movie said that it is too violent or too graphic.

Opinions on violence vary

But Raymond Lee, 19, radiology major, is the president of Club Revelation at EC and Lee said that the movie was accurate and good.

“It was a clear representation of what happened,” Lee said.

Other EC students who have also seen the movie are brother and sister Dondi, 20, and Dominique Mangahas, 19, who both go to Calvary Chapel on Vermont.

“It was graphic,” Dondi said. “It was the best portrayal of all the Jesus movies ever made.”

Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert wrote that the movie is the most violent film he has ever seen.

However, Dominique, who has seen the movie twice, thinks that it is not as violent as she had thought it would be.

Violence in movie might be good

“We see movies like Kill Bill,” Dominique said. I don’t think the violence in this movie was used to entertain people,” she said.

Dominique said that it’s not violent because it is a crucifixion .

“Going into the movie theater, you already knew what’s going to happen; it wasn’t a big shock,” she said. ” It’s a crucifixion; of course it’s going to be bad.”

Lee, however, said that the movie is so violent that it is hard to accept the fact that one man would be willing to suffer for those he loves, more than himself.

“It’s good to be drawn out of our comfort level,” Lee said. “It was a good eye-opener.”

Lee who saw the movie on Ash Wednesday said that he was glued to his seat and his heart was deeply moved by the Holy Spirit.

Having seen the movie both times, Dominique said that the first time she saw the movie, her feeling toward the movie was anticipation.

“The first one was emotional for me,” she said. “The second time I got to sit back and watch the movie like as any other movies.”

“I’ve never been to a movie where afterward nobody said a word,” Dominique said.

With the controversies of whether the movie is anti-Semitic and violent or not, Lee said that nobody who watches the movie should think of the controversies.

“It is way more deeper than that,” Lee said.

Dominique said she agrees with Lee and that she doesn’t think Gibson intended to make Jews look bad in the movie.

Movie not really anti-Semitic

“It’s not about the Jews; I remember there is a part where Jesus said ‘No one takes it (life) from me, but I lay it down on my accord,'” Dominique said.”I think when people say they think that the movie is anti-Semitic, they are missing the other part of the story.”

Dondi, however, said he has a different point of view from Lee’s and his sister’s; he said he sees that the movie does have a potential to be anti-Semitic.

He said that for the people who don’t know anything about the Bible or anything about Jesus, it can or may appear to be anti-Semitic to them.

“But then it’s like saying they shouldn’t have shown Pearl Harbor,” Dondi said, “because of how they portrayed the Japanese in the movie.”

His sister Dominique, however, said that if the anti-Semitism is already in their minds when they go to see the movie, then it will not change their minds and the movie should not be the reason why people become anti-Semitic.

Both Lee and Dondi said they agree that the movie is accurate and Dominique said he thinks that it is “mostly’ accurate.”

Satan’s part lights up the movie

“I think Mel Gibson added some of his own interpretation,” she said. “It is mostly accurate; at the same time, since Gibson has added his own beliefs, it kind of adds his personal touch to the movie.”

Another reaction from the film is the fact that the devil is shown in the movie, but in the Bible, there were no mention of the devil in Jesus Christ’s last day on earth.

Dondi said that he likes the devil part and that the devil was quite a challenge to Jesus.

“It was pretty cool how he (Gibson) accurately put Satan,” Lee said. “He was trying to discourage Jesus and attack him whenever He is at his weakest point.”

With all the controversies that surrounded the movie long before it was in theaters, no one has actually looked at it as just a movie.

“I’ve rarely heard people talk about the movie or how good it is,” Dominique said. “They just tend to talk about all the controversies about the movie.”

“The acting was incredible,” she said. “I think for Jim Caviezel, it was hard for him to play Jesus and to speak Aramaic, too; he did a good job.”

As for Gibson’s directing, all three said they agree that Gibson has done a great job.

Dominique said that the audience is drawn to the scenes and that the movie actually took it there.

Gibson makes movie look real

“In other movies, it’s never been so graphic,” Dondi said. “It felt like you were there.”

“It was great that Mel Gibson made Christ realistic,” Lee said.

But with all the graphic and violence of the movie, all three said they agree that it’s up to the parents’ decision if they really want their children to see the movie.

Dominique, however, said she saw a flaw in the movie; that is, Gibson didn’t portray Jesus with as much power as she had expected.

Dominique, who grew with a church, said that she has learned something new from this movie.

“This movie made me realize that faith is not something you grow into,” Dominique said. “But it is something you decide for yourself.”