The Passion of Christ is a vivid depiction of the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ's life.

Sometime around the year A.D. 30, in the Roman province of Palestine, an obscure Jewish carpenter named Jesus of Nazareth began to teach publicly and to proclaim the coming of a 'Kingdom of God.' For centuries, the Jewish people had expected the appearance of a promised deliverer known as the Messiah --a figure who would restore their ancient dignity, and free their sacred homeland from all evil and despair. In the minds of many, Jesus appeared to be this Messiah. Surrounded by a core group of twelve disciples, Jesus began to attract a massive following from among the common people of Galilee and Judea, who eventually praised him as their Messiah and King. However, Jesus also had many enemies in Jerusalem. The Sanhedrin, a governing senate composed of the leading Jewish priests and Pharisees, conspired to put Jesus to death.

With the aid of Judas Iscariot, a member of Jesus' own inner circle, the Sanhedrin succeeded in arresting Jesus, handing him over to the Roman secular authorities on unsubstantiated charges of treason against Rome. Although Jesus consistently maintained that his Kingdom was a heavenly and spiritual one, the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate, faced with the possibility of a riot, ordered that Jesus be taken outside the city and crucified as a common criminal.

Directed by
Mel Gibson

Cast
Jim Caviezel - Jesus
Maia Morgenstern - Virgin Mary
Monica Bellucci - Mary Magdalene
Mattia Sbragia - Ciaphas The High Priest
Hristo Shopov - Pontius Pilate
Claudia Gerini - Claudia Procles--Pilate's Wife
Luca Lionello - Judas Iscariot
Rosalinda Celentano - Satan
Hristo Jivkov - John of Zebedee
Francesco Cabras - Gesmas
Sergio Rubini - Dismas the Good Thief
Toni Bertorelli - Annas
Robert Bestazzoni - Malchus

Production Co.
Icon Productions

Produced by
Enzo Sisti
Mel Gibson
Steve McEveety

Studio
Newmarket Films

Writer
Benedict Fitzgerald
Mel Gibson

Music
John Debney
Gingger Shankar
Shankar