I've been anticipating for the release of Passion for over a year. I finally saw it tonight, 5 days after it was released in Armenia, but with Russian subtitles. I really didn't think the text would be that important, as long as Mel didn't make any important changes to a story I know quite well.
When the film was released in North America my relatives and I kept wondering how the film, if released in Armenia, would be titled in Armenian. The word "passion", with the same exact meaning, as we know it to be in English, does not exist in the Armenian language. The word "kirq" or "girq", which is the closest translation, has a different meaning than what "passion" really means, especially when it comes to Christ's "passion."
When the film advertising billboards were put up a few weeks ago, the film was (and still is) titled "Qristosi Charcharanqneruh", which translates to "The Tortures of Christ." Man did this translation really upset me. Shame on whoever made this translation.
Since the release of the film here in Armenia, almost every local Armenian we know who has seen the film has hated it (the complete opposite of my friends reactions in North America.) Tonight I saw the film with my relatives and a local friend. Before the film, we told our friend the correct translation of the film title using a combination of 2 or 3 Armenian words. His reaction was quite positive after the movie. We talked about how so many people here hate it, and we came to the conclusion that one of the major reasons is because of this title. This is not a senseless movie displaying Christ being beaten up and humiliated; it has a message and an intention that many people here have misunderstood, thanks to this misleading title.
After the film, there were youth from the "Word of Life" church passing out flyers outside, similar to the ones I've seen the Jehovah's Witness' hand out. I'm not sure which denomination they belong to (that's if they do), but I was hoping the Echmiadzin church would be a little more active with the release of this film. I'm not going to start bashing our church, but when I lived in Toronto I used to avoid our church, and instead I would, once in a while, attend service at a non-denominational non-Armenian church. Eventually, sometime after I moved to Armenia, the church went through a little bit of reform, and I'm now glad to hear that the new pastor is doing a great job getting our youth more into God.
Now, I would like to see one of the churches here make an effort to announce on TV, or wherever else, the true message of this movie, and to mention the wrong translation of its title.
Bravo to Mel for making this film, and I hope it serves its purpose of saving (and/or reminding) the many lost Christians out there.
Husam shat ch'qarozeci. :-)
When the film was released in North America my relatives and I kept wondering how the film, if released in Armenia, would be titled in Armenian. The word "passion", with the same exact meaning, as we know it to be in English, does not exist in the Armenian language. The word "kirq" or "girq", which is the closest translation, has a different meaning than what "passion" really means, especially when it comes to Christ's "passion."
When the film advertising billboards were put up a few weeks ago, the film was (and still is) titled "Qristosi Charcharanqneruh", which translates to "The Tortures of Christ." Man did this translation really upset me. Shame on whoever made this translation.
Since the release of the film here in Armenia, almost every local Armenian we know who has seen the film has hated it (the complete opposite of my friends reactions in North America.) Tonight I saw the film with my relatives and a local friend. Before the film, we told our friend the correct translation of the film title using a combination of 2 or 3 Armenian words. His reaction was quite positive after the movie. We talked about how so many people here hate it, and we came to the conclusion that one of the major reasons is because of this title. This is not a senseless movie displaying Christ being beaten up and humiliated; it has a message and an intention that many people here have misunderstood, thanks to this misleading title.
After the film, there were youth from the "Word of Life" church passing out flyers outside, similar to the ones I've seen the Jehovah's Witness' hand out. I'm not sure which denomination they belong to (that's if they do), but I was hoping the Echmiadzin church would be a little more active with the release of this film. I'm not going to start bashing our church, but when I lived in Toronto I used to avoid our church, and instead I would, once in a while, attend service at a non-denominational non-Armenian church. Eventually, sometime after I moved to Armenia, the church went through a little bit of reform, and I'm now glad to hear that the new pastor is doing a great job getting our youth more into God.
Now, I would like to see one of the churches here make an effort to announce on TV, or wherever else, the true message of this movie, and to mention the wrong translation of its title.
Bravo to Mel for making this film, and I hope it serves its purpose of saving (and/or reminding) the many lost Christians out there.
Husam shat ch'qarozeci. :-)
posted by Der Hova at 12:47 AM
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