France Gets "The Passion"

"The Passion of the Christ" cleared a hurdle on its way to the French public but it took a private screening of the film and a court hearing.

Judge Florence Lagemi dismissed complaints by three French Jewish brothers — Jean-Marc, Patrick and Gerard Benlolo — who complained that the film might incite anti-Semitism in France.

"The film in question, which is a very realistic adaptation of the final hours of Christ's life, cannot be considered an incitement to hatred and violence against Jews or an affront to their dignity and security," the judge's ruling read.

"To make the death of Jesus into the major motivation of anti-Semitism that leads to secular persecutions against Jews would stem from a narrow view of Mel Gibson's film," Judge Florence Lagemi wrote in his decision.

Despite critics in the United States and Britain continuing to blast the film as anti-Semitism, this is the first attempt to have it banned. Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" is scheduled to open in France on April 4.

"The Passion" has brought in $315 million in the United States over the last five weeks, putting it on track to become one of the biggest blockbusters ever.

Published, April 2004

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