Hindu Perspective on Mel Gibson's "Passion"

What do members of other religions think about Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion"? We've heard from Jews, Orthodox Christians, fundamentalist Christians, and Catholics - but do members of other faiths have any opinions? At least one Hindu sees the flim as an allegory for the current problems within the Catholic church:

ND Batra writes:

Gibson uses most of the cinematic time in creating a crescendo of violence, piling beating upon beating, flagellation upon flagellation, horror upon horror, culminating in the crucifixion. Yet, the movie never creates that sense of sublime terror, awe and pity that leads to deeper understanding, and acceptance, and forgiveness, and reconciliation. A great movie like a great work of art beckons you again. Would I go to see The Passion again? Not again. But I would like to see The Fellowship of the Rings: The Return of the King again; Ten Commandments again; Gandhi again. People are going to The Passion for the same reason they go to see World Wrestling Federation events and other heinous sports such as cock fighting and bear bating, as they have always done since the Romans used blood sports as mass entertainment.

The meaning of a cultural object is never stable. It not only changes from person to person but also from time to time. ... I saw [the movie] as an allegory about the abuse of the innocent by the powerful and corrupt. I began to see that the High Priest Caiaphas' loudest outburst against Jesus as no different from the loudest silence of the Vatican when it knew or should have known what its priesthood was doing to the innocent. Instead of seeing Jesus on the Cross, I saw thousands of abused American children on the Cross, while the Church made plea bargains and financial settlements with victims.

A curious, but not altogether bizarre, perspective on the movie. The criticism of the violence isn't unusual, but the allegorical reading is, I think. I'm sure that Gibson didn't intend his movie to be seen that way, but of course he doesn't get to determine how everyone "reads" his work. I wonder, though, how he would react to Batra's comments.

Read More:

• News and Commentary on Mel Gibson's The Passion
• Roman Catholicism
• Antisemitism
• Vatican Council II