"The Passion of Christ" -- would this be OK for an 11-year-old?

[Rebecca in VA]

"The Passion" is playing at our neighborhood theatre this weekend. I'd like our whole family to go, but I wonder if it would be appropriate for our 11-year-old. She isn't especially sensitive. What do you ladies think?

[Carol in Cal.]

Seriously, I have heard that it is extremely gory and over the top.

I'm not one to avoid facing the truth, but I've heard things that make me also question how Biblically accurate it is. So the combination of these two factors means that for me, I would be searing into my brain things that might not even be right, and filling it with images that will haunt me badly. So I have not gone nor would I take DD.

[RebeccaC]

"The Passion" is playing at our neighborhood theatre this weekend. I'd like our whole family to go, but I wonder if it would be appropriate for our 11-year-old. She isn't especially sensitive. What do you ladies think?


No! My dh had a hard time with th emovie and he was almost 50. I went with my pastor's wife who was 50 and she sobbed uncontrollably through the movie and I had to drive us home as she was unable. I can not imagine a sensitive 11yo girl handling it well.

That written I did let my 13 and 11 year old boys see it on the small screen. I was less overwhelming on the little screen. No matter which screen size it is a very graphic and powerful movie.

[True Blue]

No. I'd wait until she was 16+ and it was her idea to watch it.

[nancypants]

I would not let her watch it. Of course that, for me, stems from more than just how gory it is. It stems from theological "'issues" I have with it... but I'm guessing that's another post altogether (that probably got beaten like a poor dead horse two or three years ago already!)

[debbiec]

NO ~ we did let 11/12 year old watch the beginning (if I remember right) but stopped after Jesus was taken in. If you have a sensitive child I wouldn't let them watch any of it. Satan, although well done, could be kind of creepy for an imaginative child.

[debbiec]

Well, theologicallly you are right, but I must have missed that beating darn it!

[Daisy]

No way. It is a very emotional thing to watch. I find it very difficult.

[mcconnellboys]

Oh, man, I absolutely sobbed through most of the thing and so did all the other adults around me. I know that my older son, who went with me at the time, was about 12 or 13 and he found it difficult, too, even though I tried as best I could to prepare him for what I thought he was going to see...... It's a very visually powerful movie.

Regena

[debbiec]

My husband thinks I might possibly not have a soul :)

But, I think when I watched, I was mentally braced myself and went in viewing it "as a movie" and not getting emotionally sucked in.

Maybe there is something wrong with me, I don't know ~

[GothicGyrl]

Ok--knowing how I feel about religion and all that, consider my words.. I took 5 pages of notes during the movie(saw it in the theatre and now I own it).

Both of my girls saw it when it came out. Both of them are aware of what Christ went through on the cross. Both of them understood and understand that it was not pretty. How could it have been considering the bible uses very strong words to describe it.

That said--Yes, I would take an 11 year old. Especially one that is not particularly sensitive. It IS bloody, gorey and nasty. It's a scourging--it has to be. It is not pretty at all. There is also some disturbing imagery in it as well, that plays into Judas's descent into madness.

Some facts:

It is Mel Gibson's hand that is seen driving the nail into Christ's hand on the cross.
Jim Caveiziel, who played Christ, was struck by lighting on the cross(and you can see the damage done to him in the film).
Also, during the scourging scenes, they use some type of meat hook whip on him, an up close shot shows that the hook rips into skin and causes it to bleed--this is real. The actor who played the Roman doing this to Christ, missed his mark on Caveizel's back and actually ripped him open. The scream and cry that follows on the screen, is real because of it. They did not know that it had occurred until after they filmed it. Gibson and Caveizel both agreed to keep the scene because it was raw true emotion.

There was one scene that actually made me jump. ME!. Judas is in an alley of sorts and a demon appears out of nowhere. That demon made me jump.

There are some legit theological issues with it. Gibson is a member of a Catholic sect that is theologically at "war" with the majority of other Catholics. I can't remember what he calls himself, but his father is a Nazi sympathizer and denies the Holocaust. Biblically, Gibson DID capture the visual imagery of what Christ's last hours were. Spot on. Theologically, he also put in his own twist (though not entirely evident or in your face) of what he believes about Christ. But you really would be hard pressed to find them throughout the film, they are sort of hidden and a child especially, won't find them.

I was a Christian at the time and I was not moved like others were. It was just another well told movie about Christ. I did feel it over the top (like he was trying to hard to get the message across), but all told--it really was a good movie. LOTS of opportunity for discussion and good deep discussion at that.

So yes, I would let them watch it. I have watched it more than once and I liked it.

[Chris in VA]

It is a profound, deeply moving (disturbing, if you will) movie. I'm not sure I'd let a child that young see it, but you are the best judge. I'd be prepared to talk about it.
My husband (priest) says they only went slightly over the top--probably Jesus was not scourged on his front. But the rest of the violence, he says, is accurate.
On my blog, I have a picture of the hole Jesus was probably held in the first night, after being arrested in the garden. That alone was disturbing to me.

The movie is beautifully done, but scary and bloody and very, very sad. If she's ready, it can make her Easter that much more joyful, knowing the crucifixion was not the end.

[Peek a Boo]

OK, I have a confession ~ I did not cry ~
My husband thinks I might possibly not have a soul :)

But, I think when I watched, I was mentally braced myself and went in viewing it "as a movie" and not getting emotionally sucked in.

Maybe there is something wrong with me, I don't know ~

This is me too.
I rarely cry at "emotional" stuff.
The only part that I could feel the clenching of my chest was during what i call the Mom scene. I'll keep typing but make it invisible if you haven't seen it yet. Highlight from here on down to read the rest:
[spoiler here]

The scene where Christ is carrying the cross and falls -- Mary has a flashback to Him as a child, He falls, and she runs up to comfort and console Him. But as she runs to Him falling under the weight of the cross, she is blocked from helping. Oh. that was tough! i can only imagine....not being able to help as your child is led off to His death......
[end spoiler]


But I would NOT let my kids watch it. my oldest is 13. they routinely watch other stuff -Alien, CSI, Lost, etc. But this has a personal, emotional side and is TRUE. We're saving it for about 16yo. Even the first parts of the movie are kinda creepy...
[spoiler here] with the wierd looking Devil in the garden--ew. [end spoiler]

anyway-- it is a good movie tho.

[abbeyej]

I *might*. But it would depend so much on the child... I couldn't recommend that someone *else* take an eleven-year-old to see it without screening it themselves with their own particular child in mind (and their own particular concerns about the accuracy and theology of the portrayal).

I'm also not sure that I would want the images in a child's head before they've had the chance to think through the Biblical descriptions some as an adult. Does that make sense? I'd prefer the visuals in the move serve as one possible illustration for the story we know so intimately as mature adults, and not the definitive version in a child's head. I think waiting till they're a little older is a better way to approach that.

[GothicGyrl]

It is a profound, deeply moving (disturbing, if you will) movie. I'm not sure I'd let a child that young see it, but you are the best judge. I'd be prepared to talk about it.
My husband (priest) says they only went slightly over the top--probably Jesus was not scourged on his front. But the rest of the violence, he says, is accurate.
On my blog, I have a picture of the hole Jesus was probably held in the first night, after being arrested in the garden. That alone was disturbing to me.

The movie is beautifully done, but scary and bloody and very, very sad. If she's ready, it can make her Easter that much more joyful, knowing the crucifixion was not the end.
It's kind of an odd angle, how are you looking at that hole? What's the orange light that I see? You obviously are not inside the hole, so how were you standing when you took this?

[GothicGyrl]

Your second spoiler Peek, the garden one--that was the second freak out--Judas' alley freak out was the first one. Those were the only two.. It was weird, and if you remember Peek, I came on Teaching Mom with all of my questions/notes after I saw it.

[Kelli in TN]

I have not been able to personally watch it yet. In fact, I don't know that I will ever be able to watch it. So, no. Absolutely not. They can make their own decision when they are older.

[Beth in Central TX]

I agree with the others; this this movie would not be appropriate for your 11-year old sensitive daughter.

[elegantlion]

Our previous church rented a theater when it came out. Our pastor rec it for ages 12 and over. There were a few that brought younger ages, but it was powerful to see it with a room of full of people you knew.

That being said, I plan on allowing my ds to watch it at the end of our history studies next year. He will be 11 1/2 then. We're waiting until then not so much because of the graphic nature, but the ability to comprehend its purpose.

[dirty ethel rackham]

My not so sensitive 14 yos has not seen it. I would like him to see it after he has done a more thorough study of the Gospels. My sensitive 11 yos (who had to stop reading The Giver because he was freaked out that babies were not raised by their birth mothers) will not see it until he is older.

I would like to see it again with my husband. After I saw it, Passion Sunday has never been the same. A very powerful movie.

[Michelle in MO]

when they were 11, I didn't really feel like they were ready. I believe a sensitive 11-year-old could be troubled by many of the images. The scene in which Jesus is being scourged is very gory and I wasn't able to watch the whole thing. Now that my older two are 16 and 13, I believe they could handle it.

I'm not sure how a Roman scourging would really have looked like; I do know that Mel Gibson was trying to make it as "real" as possible. Although some earlier movies, like Ben Hur, show a crucifixion scene, most crucifixion scenes are probably very mild compared to what most likely happened.

I believe there was some imagery that would be more meaningful to some Catholic brothers and sisters, such as some scenes from the Stations of the Cross. I am a Protestant, but these didn't bother me at all; I thought they were very moving. Overall, the movie had a profound effect on me, but I would agree with the general consensus of the others: it might be too much for a sensitive 11-year-old. However, I could see showing it to an 11-year-old if I believed they were "ready" to handle it.

[True Blue]

I don't think seeing The Passion brought me any closer to Christ. It was gory and horrifying to me. But my imagination is far worse based on scripture without the visual aid of the movie. I don't think I benefited in any way seeing it. I think this movie should be saved for a mature person, hence my 16+ rating.

[Kate CA]

I don't at all think it is appropriate for an eleven year-old. If my dc wish to see it they will as adults. It was very graphic and was Mel Gibson's version of the cross. It is not something I want in their heads.

[True Blue]

I consider using The Passion another form of "Hell, Fire, & Brimstone." I don't think these kinds of tools are effective in encouraging a loving relationship with Christ with most people. And I don't use them with my kids to coerce their feelings towards Him.

Yes, I can't seem to stay away from this thread.

[Cindy in C-ville]

Dh and I saw it in the movie theater and I agree with others who said, "No way." We have a copy of "The Jesus Film" that we watch with our kids. http://www.jesusfilm.org/ It's good for now. And, as others said, if they want to see it when they're 18+, they're welcome to.

~Cindy

[Chris in VA]

It's not my picture, but my husband took one almost like it (his is better, but it's still a slide --a real slide, can you imagine? lol-- and not on the computer yet). I think you are looking down the hole, but it's hard to see the bottom in the right way. Dh says they have dug out the side of it now, and you can go down steps somehow to get to it. I'm not really sure what he means by that, but when he went, it was a hole in the floor.
Clear as mud, eh?

[Donna]

I would not and haven't allowed either of my boys see it though I have allowed them to see some rated R movies with violence (they are 10 and 12).

This movie was very hard to watch and I cried the entire movie.

[Rebecca in VA]

No one in our family has ever seen "The Passion," so we're kind of clueless about how the events are portrayed. I'm glad I asked all of you! We won't take her, and we'll carefully consider whether we're ready to see it ourselves. (We're all tired and stressed-out here, and a shocking movie might send us over the edge!)

Thanks, everyone!

[Hillary in KS]

NO!

For an adult, sure. For a mature high school jr. or sr., sure - as long as parents are there.

11? Absolutely not.

[Julpost]

Here's another 'movie' by almost the same name that some have said is good for the whole family...."The Passion"...I included the link, it's a free instant movie on Netflix if you are a subscriber. I haven't watched the Mel Gibson film because I'm kind of afraid of it from all that I've heard, I cry easily, but this production was awesome. I did cry a little but it made the crucifixion so real to me. I watched it tonight with my kids since we didn't go to church for Good Friday. I think it was a better choice. It just brings it home to see the story performed this way. It's a one man performance but very, very powerful. I'd be interested in hearing whether others watch it and their opinions.

[Julpost]

Here it is:

http://www.netflix.com/WatchNowMovie/The_Passion/70030283?trkid=203457