A few questions for "Satan"
Category: Movies...
Posted Wednesday, March 03, 2004 at 01:11 PM [GMT-6]

I took my sixteen year old niece to see "The Passion of the Christ" last night (her brother came down with strep throat and had to stay home). It was my second viewing of the film in less than a week, and I have to admit that it was difficult to sit through again. I'm not looking forward to the third viewing with the nephew, but a promise is a promise.

Anyway, perhaps as a defense mechanism against the intensity of the film, I paid closer attention to some of the characters, focusing in particular on Rosalinda Celentano's Satan. Her character doesn't dominate the movie, by any stretch, but her portrayal is still powerful in an understated and undeniably creepy way.

I'll admit that my interest was also piqued by a comment left by a visitor on one of my earlier posts about "The Passion." It was left by someone close to Rosalinda, expressing surprise upon learning that she had been cast in this film as she isn't a Christian, as far as the commenter knew.

I've since exchanged a couple of emails with the commenter (whose identity I'll leave undisclosed for now), and that person has asked for prayer for Rosalinda and her spiritual condition. I've also offered this humble blog as a forum for any comments that Rosalinda might wish to offer about her experiences in making the movie; I've yet to find any other interviews with her, which I find very unusual. We'll see what develops along those lines.

But, in the meantime, it got me to thinking about the questions I'd like to ask her, if I could engage her in a conversation. Here's the top 10:

1. Are you a Christian?


2. Were your spiritual beliefs and faith topics of conversation with Mel Gibson during the casting process?


3. Do you believe in the existence of Satan?


4. How did you go about preparing for this role? Did you read any of the Bible passages wherein Satan is described?


5. How did the process of acting in "The Passion" affect you from a spiritual perspective?


6. Assuming that you sought out this role, why were you interested in it?


7. Now that it has been released to such a wide audience, has your vision of the film and its potential impact changed from what it was in the beginning?


8. How do you feel about the decision to dub a male voice over yours? Did you know from the beginning that this was the plan?


9. How was the making of this movie different from other productions in which you've appeared?


10. What advice or special direction did Mel Gibson provide you that helped you in your portrayal of Satan?

Some of these questions would be somewhat unusual for any other film, but in this case, the faith and spiritual condition of the performers seem to me to be particularly relevant. I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to hear or read answers to these questions from Rosalinda, either directly or indirectly, but in coming up with the list, my fascination with her motivation and perceptions has grown considerably.

I'm not convinced that Mel Gibson's vision of Satan is scripturally accurate, but until something better comes along, Rosalinda Celentano's performance will be the standard by which other portrayals will be measured.