Sequels
: I was wondering when Mel Gibson’s Passion would open in Europe, where the real fun will begin. It opens on March 26 in the UK and likely in June in Germany and France and, if I’m translating correctly, in Poland.
And, by the way, the official Passion site has been translated into Latin and Aramaic.
: UPDATE: A commenter said he’d read that the movie was not being distributed in France. From Frank Rich’s Sunday NY Time’s column:
Whether “The Passion” will prove quite as benign in Europe and the Arab world is a story yet to be told. It can’t be coincidence that France, where Jacques Chirac has of late called for “zero tolerance” of anti-Semitism, was the only country where the film lacked a distributor until this week, when a Tunisian producer declared it was his “duty as a Muslim who believes in Jesus” to remedy that terrible lapse.
: Rich also takes media to task for giving Gibson an easy ride:
But speaking as someone who has never experienced serious bigotry, I must confess that, whatever happens abroad, the fracas over “The Passion” has made me feel less secure as a Jew in America than ever before.
My quarrel is not with most of the millions of Christian believers who are moved to tears by “The Passion.” They bring their own deep feelings to the theater with them, and when Mr. Gibson pushes their buttons, however crudely, they generously do his work for him, supplying from their hearts the authentic spirituality that is missing in his jamboree of bloody beefcake….
What concerns me much more are those with leadership positions in the secular world
