“My prayer was literally, ‘I just want everyone to see Jesus. That’s it! I don’t want them to see me,” Caviezel shared with Outreach. “Then the second part of it was, ‘Because they see Him, conversions will happen.’ This film is going to be sold on people seeing Christ, and if they don’t believe in it, great. But at least they had the opportunity.”

Personal Motivation

Directed, co-written and bankrolled (to the tune of $25 million) by Gibson, “The Passion of the Christ” began its evolution 12 years ago when the actor/director began investigating the roots of his Catholic faith during a time in his life when he was what he terms “jump-out-the-window kind of desperate.”

“I had always believed in God, that He existed, and I was brought up to believe a certain way,” Gibson said in an interview with the international news agency Zenit during the filming. “But in my middle years, I kind of drifted, and other things took center stage. At that point, I realized I needed something more if I was going to survive. A closer investigation of the Gospel, of the story, of the whole piece, was demanded of me.

“That’s when the idea started to percolate inside my head. I began to see it realistically, re-creating it in my own mind so that it would make sense for me, so that I could relate to it.”

Now, more than a decade later as Gibson’s L.A.-based film company Icon Entertainment prepares to open “The Passion of the Christ” on 2,000 U.S. screens nationwide on Feb. 25, the film, he says, “heals me to watch it.”

“It’s a strange thing. But in watching it, I’ve found it’s actually purged me. I’ve never experienced a film like it. The wounds of Christ are what heal my wounds.”

Not Just Another Jesus Movie

Golden locks, fair skin, blue eyes and British accents — they’re all characteristics typical of the “Jesus” movies Gibson had seen before. For the man whose “Braveheart” picked up a 1995 Best Picture Oscar, authenticity and historical accuracy were paramount. And though “The Passion of the Christ” is not meant to be a documentary or a work of theology, Gibson consulted with pastors and Bible researchers to ensure authenticity and held advance screenings around the country soliciting feedback.

“I’m telling the story as the Bible tells it,” Gibson told Zenit. “The Gospel is a complete script, and that’s what we’re filming.”

Consequently for the first time on any screen, audiences will witness the Passion in a way that many who have already seen the film say is “the closest to being there.” That includes the graphic brutality of Christ’s scourging and crucifixion; dialog (with subtitles) in the ancient languages; biblical and historical accuracy to the last detail, including a Coptic-looking Christ (Caviezel’s blue eyes were digitally altered to a deep, caramel brown); and scenes that were filmed on the outskirts of Matera, Italy, where certain sections of the city share a striking similarity to ancient Jerusalem.