Those reviews of "The Passion of the Christ" are a travesty, imo. That was a brilliant movie in every sense of the word, savaged by people who 1) thought we were still living in the Middle Ages and it would spark pogroms as Passion Plays once did 2) hated Mel Gibson and always had 3)hate Christianity.
Is it too violent for some people, perhaps? Yes, it is, but there was violence and gore in Braveheart too. Mel Gibson makes it real. That's the way it was in both cases. If you're of a religious frame of mind, that's what God suffered for our sins. Did I find it distressing, upsetting, did I weep? Yes, I did. That's besides the point. Those reviews are as ridiculous of those of Pauline Kael used to be. Crucifixion is a violent business.
I cried all the way through Schindler's List. A friend of mine who knows me well brought along an entire box of tissues, and I used them all. I almost did leave, but I felt that I had to bear witness to it.