The Passion of the Christ

Mel Gibson has never been shy about voicing his religious beliefs. The Catholic actor even lets it show via his work; last year Gibson played a former minister in "Signs," and then later in the year, a Catholic lieutenant in "We Were Soldiers."

Now, the Oscar-winning actor is taking his faith to a whole other level in his much anticipated movie, "The Passion of the Christ."

Gibson is directing the movie that depicts the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus. When Gibson announced the film at a news conference last September, he said he was having difficulty finding a distributor for the film. He acknowledged the reservations people may have had in picking up the film because the actors are only speaking Latin and Aramaic."Obviously, nobody wants to touch something filmed in two dead languages. They think I'm crazy, and maybe I am. But maybe I'm a genius," Gibson said.

It did not take long for questions to arise about the nature of the film and whether or not it carried anti-Semitic depictions or if it was offensive to Catholics. Seven months before its release date, the film had already been criticized by a nine-member panel that included Christians. Gibson is an outspoken member of an ultraconservative Catholic movement that rejects the Vatican's authority over the Catholic Church.

Gibson has defended his film, saying it was a true and faithful recounting of the crucifixion of Christ, saying the film is meant "to inspire, not offend."

The movie, starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus and Monica Bellucci as Mary Magdalene, is being funded completely through Gibson's own money including his own $30 million.

Recently, Gibson has been building support with invitation-only screenings for film industry insiders and Jewish, Christian and Catholics he thinks will be open to the idea of his movie.

Some of those who have seen the film have called it beautiful, magical and a great and important work.

Others who have reservations about the film, are concerned that the film will attract millions to see a bloody and violent recounting of the crucifixion, portraying the Jews as a group eager to see Jesus die.

"For too many years, Christians have accused Jews of being Christ-killers and used that charge to rationalize violence," said Sister Mary C. Boys, a Catholic professor at the Union Theological Seminary who read an early draft of the script. "This is our fear." Because the film is only about the last hours of Jesus, it does not give a history of the Jewish role in Jesus' life, which may present a skewed view to audiences.

Even with all the controversy, churches are buying mass tickets and the anticipation for the movie release is sweeping the nation.

The movie hits theaters on Ash Wednesday, February 25th.