Passion of the Christ

So I finally saw Passion of the Christ. While it was gory and full of violence, I've seen other movies that are worse (ie. Kill Bill). I guess I didn't get what people were so worked up about but then again...if this was shown happening to someone I was spiritually connected with, I'd be pretty emotional too.

I liked that the movie was graphic and did not tone down what happened. I liked that it was in Aramaic. What I was left wanting was a bit more of a story. While most of us understood what was going on growing up in the West (since we are familiar with biblical stories whether we are Christian or not), for those who are not familiar, it did not make as much sense.

And a couple things I didn't get: The young woman he saves that is with his mom till the end...was that Mary Magdelene? And WHO/WHAT was that wierd man/creature looking thing that comes all in black and with a spooky face? (when Jesus is on the ground and a snake comes by him, when the person who turned him in committs suicide, etc.)