„THE MATERNAL ROLE IS A DIVINE MISSION”

Magyar Nemzet publishes an interview with Maia Morgenstern who played the Virgin Mary in Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ.

Mel Gibson saw Ms Morgenstern first in a film by Márta Mészáros. The Romanian actress had played in 28 films and was not too deeply touched by Hollywood during the five-months-long work. She said the main goal of the film has been to wake up conscience. It has a political and social message to the world where a great number of nations suffer similarly to Jews in Jesus’s times. People who survived the Ceausescu era know this very well. The film is no more brutal and violent than newsreels we watch on television every day. This film is not a documentary film, the atrocities are committed by the Romans, it is not understandable why the charge of anti-Semitism has been widely repeated.’I am not a Bible expert, I am an actress, the maternal role is a divine mission, and thanks to God, there is something holy which mankind has preserved untouched.’

Ms Morgenstern was given a standing ovation by the public of Corvin cinema where she appeared at the showing of the film. In Hungary within 11 days 200 000 people saw Mel Gibson’s film.

Translated by Péter Szentmihályi Szabó