A Parisian cinema showing this humanistic look at Jesus' ministry and death was firebombed; a teacher who showed it to her school sparked a media outcry; Blockbuster video refused to stock it. The controversy dial, in other words, was turned all the way up to 11, making the firestorm around The Passion Of The Christ seem small by comparison. But behind all the fuss lies a film that's deeply respectful of Christ's teachings (if not the Gospels per se) and deeply awed by the story of his sacrifice. Scorsese's Jesus (Willem Dafoe) was shown as unsure of his destiny, struggling in an identifiably human way to take up his burden and follow it through. Like many of Scorsese's other films, it's ultimately about a struggle to find the right path in life rather than the easiest or more seductive path - and what could be more in line with the gospels than that? OK, apart from a literal retelling thereof. Still, one can't help feeling as though many of the protestors didn't watch it at all, definitely didn't watch right through till the end, or didn't pay attention if they did.