2021 mileage: 2076.9
Today, because of weather (rain, and high winds) and schedule considerations, I had to ride our stationary bike, Early this afternoon I climbed on it, and did 24.7 miles in 1:34, while watching the 2004 movie The Passion of the Christ, which was very appropriate seasonally on this Palm Sunday, at the beginning of Holy Week. The movie was very controversial for the alleged anti-Semitism of director Mel Gibson. What struck me most forcefully, however, was the graphic depiction of the violence that Jesus suffered at the hands (and whips) of those who crucified Him. Critic Roger Ebert called it "the most violent film I have ever seen." In an interview with Diane Sawyer, Gibson claimed, "I wanted it to be shocking, And I wanted it to be extreme ... So that they see the enormity, the enormity of that sacrifice; to see that someone could endure that and still come back with love and forgiveness, even through extreme pain and suffering and ridicule."
With dialogue entirely in Latin, Hebrew, and Aramaic (said to have Christ's first language), the movie was eventually released with English subtitles, though Gibson's first inclination was to avoid subtitles and "transcend the language barriers with visual storytelling."
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