200 post milestone

Before tomorrow's weekend, I will talk of the last one. I went to London to see Jon Williams' on Good Friday. The transport disruption to my journey was not so great as it could have been. I got off at London Bridge, hoping to take the Jubilee Line to Swiss Cottage for the rendevous, but the entire central section was out, so I braved the District Line, changed at Moorgate, took the Hammersmith and City Line and changed at the appropriate juncture to finally get on the Jubilee Line. I stayed at Jon's girlfriend's pad for a while since the electricity was purportedly out at Nefeli's place - the fusebox was mystifying to Nefeli, Jon and her landlord, until the electrician came round and solved it a bit too swiftly for all concerned.
We later popped over to Jon's pad, where I stayed the night. We ordered out Indian cuisine and got a film out of video rental. That was The Kingdom. Set in Saudi Arabia, it was all quite professional, but apart from a few big explosions and firefights, it was mostly police procedural, like CSI: Riyadh. A little superficial in large regard. 5/10.

The Passion, shown on BBC TV had stonking production values, but it was not just a controversial embellishment, but a re-editing of the Gospels to suit the motives of those behind it. It was clearly the work of a lapsed Roman Catholic, who found a modicum of faith while researching the script. Call it Frank Deasey's Imagining of Passover Week in Jerusalem in 33AD, but not The Passion. Even the Resurrection is dealt with in a strictly secular way. You can talk about wizards at Hogwart's but not angels in Galilee. In the modern fashion, Judas is dealt with sympathetically, but so is Caiaphas, the high priest, a departure from previous tradition, whereas as Pilate is seen in a more cynically political light and therefore is a harsher portrayal than usual. These are all twists on a familiar story, but they undermine much of the Gospel's message - more a man calling himself the Son of God, rather than the Son of God made man. The Passion of the Christ, much maligned by those who see themselves as secular, is a far more accurate realisation of the Passion story. As Pope John Paul II said, before distancing himself from the comments to a more neutral stance "It is as it was." Even then, film can only portray certain things, but that has a more convinced Christian message. In my eyes, that makes it more worthwhile.