People have been questioning Gibson's motives for making this film ever since word got round a couple of years ago that he was planning a movie about the last hours of Jesus' life.

Cross to bear - Simon of Cyrene (Jarreth Merz) helps Jesus (Jim Caviezel) carry his cross

Especially as he was having the actors talk in Aramaic and Latin - and originally intended that the film would have no subtitles!

Gibson's striking, emotive work is certainly unlike any portrayal of Jesus ever made before, either the sweeping Biblical epics from Hollywood's golden age or even Martin Scorcese's The Last Temptation of Christ, which drew mass protests on its release.

Controversy has beset The Passion of the Christ from the outset, but despite that it's proved a huge box office success in the USA.

The difference with this film is the unrelentingly gruesome detail of Jesus' suffering. The flogging isn't just a few lashes of the whip; it's two leering Roman thugs ripping Jesus' body to shreds, first with normal whips, then with whips studded with metal and wood.

By the time it's over, Jesus is flayed to a raw pulp, his ribcage visible because of the amount of flesh that's been ripped off him.

Then, the 'Way of the Cross' is an agonising journey, with Jesus barely able to carry the implement of his own death, while the Crucifixion is shown in all its brutal detail, from the driving in of the nails to the breaking of Jesus' ankles.

In his last directorial effort, Braveheart, Gibson also showed a similar relish for this kind of graphic depiction of torture.

The other big issue about the Passion of the Christ is, of course, its alleged anti-Semitism.

Simply put, it shows a Jewish man despised by a section of his own people and betrayed by his own followers.

Yes, the Jewish leaders and the mob they incite are shown to be despicable, but could we look at them not just as Jewish but as representing the ugly, hateful side of humanity itself?

Gibson claims that he didn't intend the film to be anti-Semitic, but perhaps he doesn't handle these scenes as sensitively as he might have.

That aside, the film is impressively shot and designed. But what of The Passion of the Christ as a film, as a piece of entertainment?

Well, it certainly isn't easy viewing or your average popcorn movie, but it is a provocative, powerful work - albeit one that rather bludgeons you with its intent from start to finish.

The film may offend some, but it's also a searing, intense, sometimes moving experience, and one you don't forget in a hurry. And there aren't many films you can say that about these days.