Film review: 'My Last Day'—Christ's story for the anime generation

Like modern forms of the Pasyon and the Senakulo, films about the Passion story become very popular around Holy Week. Movies like the “Passion of the Christ,” and “Jesus Christ Superstar,” have become token viewing fare for believers who like to get into the Holy Week spirit.   Another such film has made use of a popular style—anime—to depict the suffering of Christ. A collaboration between Japanese animation house Studio 4C and Disney animation director Barry Cook, the 9-minute film “My Last Day” was uploaded on YouTube last year, and has received over 250,000 hits since then. In the film, the Passion unfolds from the viewpoint of the Penitent Thief, who watches a man being whipped outside his cell and recognizes him as Jesus, the man whose influence threatened the Roman authorities to anger.   The thief watches horrorstruck as Jesus is whipped and mocked. He sees him fall on their ascent to Golgotha and experience much more cruelty at the hands of the Romans than he who was a certain criminal.   The film’s style might make it attractive to young children, but the animation did not water down the violent content of the Passion story.   Despite being rendered in line drawings, there was nothing cartoon-ish about the movements on screen. There were no googly eyes or exaggerated facial expressions, and there were definitely none of the quirky speech bubbles and whimsical characters typical of anime productions.   There was, however, a surplus of red—angry lines of bright red the color of fresh blood, and faint shadows of dull red, the color of evaporated life. There was also a tendency for tight shots—a zoom-in on the eyes of the characters to show pain and regret, and a close-up of a nail being pounded into flesh to highlight the sheer brutality of the crucifixion.   There was music to heighten the drama, a deathly fanfare with each heavy hit of the hammer on the nail. There were voices that mocked or cried out in pain.   There was no intention to explore the humanity of the Christ, no rich historical details enlightening viewers about the socio-political context of the crucifixion.   It is a very simple film, very short and very quick. It focuses only on the most harrowing part of the Passion narratives.   But it’s still worth a view or two, if only to remember the immense sacrifice that Jesus made for humanity—ultimately, this is what Holy Week is about anyway. –KG, GMA News