As Christians, our job isn’t to make movies that sanitize the world, but to show the world truthfully.

Easter is a time to reflect on events central to the Christian faith that fulfill the Jewish Spring Feasts, in particular the death and resurrection of Jesus — an event we often forget is incredibly violent and graphic. But it’s Jesus the Messiah’s overcoming of that reality that makes it so beautiful.

This week, we’re looking at a filmmaker who chose to look at the crucifixion with unflinching eyes. Mel Gibson approached The Passion of the Christ with uncommon conviction, depicting Christ’s suffering with a level of detail that many found deeply moving and others difficult to endure.

The response revealed something worth paying attention to — not just about the film, but about us.

When a portrayal feels overwhelming, it’s worth asking whether it’s excessive or simply closer to the truth than we’re used to seeing. Plenty of films portray violence without considering its weight or its consequences, where it becomes easy to watch and even easier to forget what it costs.

It’s a question that points to the line between violence that distracts and violence that reveals, and what it means to tell a story faithfully when its reality is hard to face.

Mel Gibson’s visceral depiction of Christ’s final hours refuses to look away from the reality of the crucifixion. Shot in Aramaic and Latin, the film draws viewers into both the brutality and the reverence of the moment. Rather than exploiting suffering, it handles it with weight and intention, reflecting on the cost at the heart of the story. For those willing to sit with it, the result is something rare: a portrayal that brings what can feel distant into sharp, human focus.

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Based on the true story of evangelist and author Lee Strobel, the film follows an atheist journalist investigating the resurrection — interviewing theologians, scholars, and historians to disprove his wife’s newfound faith. Rather than preach, it pursues. What emerges is a portrait of someone wrestling honestly with evidence, doubt, and what belief might actually require. Viewed alongside The Passion of the Christ, it offers a different lens on why that sacrifice matters, grounding belief in something examined and real.

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When Mel Gibson set out to film the crucifixion, he made a defining choice: show it as it was. No softening. No distance.

Gibson's conviction didn't come from nowhere. Years earlier, he'd hit an emotional bottom — what he later described as “spiritual bankruptcy.” That reckoning led him back to his faith and eventually to this project. He wasn't interested in a comfortable retelling of a familiar story.

In a past interview, Gibson explained: "I wanted it to be shocking…to push the viewer over the edge, so they see the enormity of that sacrifice. To see that someone could endure that and still return with love and forgiveness."

The response was divided. Some experienced the film as deeply faith-affirming, even transformative. Others found the brutality overwhelming, arguing it overshadowed the message.

That approach isn't isolated to The Passion of the Christ. In his 2006 film Apocalypto, Gibson once again leans into graphic violence — not to sensationalize it, but to reflect the world as it was. It's a consistent thread in his work: truth made visible through what's difficult to witness.

For Gibson, the question wasn't whether violence belonged on screen. It was whether we're willing to look closely at what we believe, and what it asks of us.

The results are in! 100% of you voted for That it doesn’t shy away from the truth in last week’s poll: When a story tackles something difficult, what matters most to you?

We’ve been following the team behind Gym Rat as the film premieres at the Beverly Hills Film Festival on April 14, arriving as a project that moved forward before everything was fully in place.

Plumb News founder Ian Max Eyre stunt coordinated the film’s initial production phase, helping bring it to life in its earliest form.

The movie explores the reality of mental illness and the possibility of redemption, even in the wake of violent choices. Not an easy story, but one grounded in the belief that no one is beyond restoration. Like the films we’ve been considering, it doesn’t look away from what’s difficult — it leans into it.

What stands out isn’t just the subject matter, but how it came together.

Rather than waiting for ideal conditions, the team built momentum step by step — developing the film, refining it, and earning the trust of collaborators along the way. Like many independent projects, it didn’t begin with scale in mind. It grew into it.

They initially developed and shot the film without Lou Ferrigno attached, building a rough cut, trailer, and early materials to show what the film could be. That early work caught his attention, leading to new scenes and ultimately bringing a recognizable name into the project.

For filmmakers watching from the outside, it’s a reminder that progress often comes before permission. Not everything needs to be in place to begin. Sometimes the work itself opens the next door.

_{*Plumb News has a connection to the team behind “Gym Rat,” including involvement during its early production phase. We’re highlighting it because we believe projects like this deserve support.}

“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” – Isaiah 53:5 (ESV)

There’s a strange distance we can keep from this truth. We often speak of Christ’s sacrifice in theological terms. Words that feel safe, like grace and atonement. Words that don’t require us to picture anything.

But Isaiah doesn’t let us stay comfortable. The verse insists on specificity: pierced, crushed, chastisement. Not abstract ideas, but something endured. A cost that was real.

Mel Gibson’s film asks us to do something most of us avoid: not to explain, but to witness. To let the reality of suffering sit with us before we move to explanation.

That kind of attention can feel uncomfortable. But it also has a way of bringing clarity to our faith. Not because the suffering itself is the point, but because it points to something true.

This Easter, the invitation isn’t just to understand the crucifixion, but to consider it more closely… and let its weight become real enough to change us.

Until next time,

THE PLUMB NEWS TEAM