The Great Passion - DVD

Film: In Oberammergau, we are forced by profession to be God's children This sentence describes very well what has been happening with great regularity in this small Upper Bavarian community since 1634. After the villagers had sworn to hold regular Passion plays after surviving the plague, the last five days in the life of Jesus have been performed 41 times every ten years. Anyone who was born in Oberammergau or who has lived in the community for at least 20 years and who also has long hair is allowed to take part in the play. Thus, before all Passion Plays, there is always an appeal to everyone to let their hair and beard grow. The performances last several hours and attract visitors from all over the world. The 2010 Passion Play alone drew over half a million spectators in 109 performances.

Even the announcement of the performers is a real big event, to which also the Bavarian political VIPs arrive. But the actual preparation for the games begins much earlier. Filmmaker Jörg Adolph accompanied the process of the Oberammergau Passion Play 2010 from the initial planning phase to the performances, capturing over 30 hours of footage over the course of almost three years, from which he then edited the nearly 140-minute documentary The Great Passion. The result is amazingly humorous, charming, honest, exciting and highly interesting.

Adolph confines himself entirely to the role of observer. Thus he lets the viewer participate directly and unadulterated in the process of creation. At the center of this is play director Christian Stückl, who has taken over the direction of the Passion Play for the third time in 2010. From the first call to the male villagers to the casting, the selection of roles, the construction of the stage, the rehearsals, discussions about marketing and the performances - Adolph's camera is always there. Even when there are arguments and heated discussions, or when two of the young actors give an interview to a Christian broadcaster in the USA, or when the numerous extras are selected. How is it allowed to market the Passion Play, how much does the story have to be changed to avoid the accusation of being too anti-Semitic and can the 2010 Jesus still use the cross of the 2000 Jesus? Stückl and his team have to deal with these and many other questions and problems again and again during the long preparation phase. How calm the play director always seems to remain in the process is fascinating to watch.

Anyway, the film makes it clear that there are hardly any egos being cultivated here, but rather an important tradition, which makes The Great Passion not just a documentary about the Passion Play, but about the entire village and its history. It is a very affectionate film, which shows a lot of respect for its characters and their passion, but does not judge itself, but leaves this entirely up to the viewer. And in view of these entertaining two and a half hours, the viewer's rating can only be positive. No matter whether you are interested in the Passion Plays or whether you simply like to watch documentaries about people filled with a certain passion, you should not miss this highly interesting, never dry or boring, but pleasantly amusing film. Absolutely recommended!

Image + Sound: The technical realization is on a good level for documentaries. The picture is clean and the sharpness can largely convince. That there is the one or other blurred or washed out moment, is not unusual for a documentary and should therefore not be rated negatively. As for the sound, it is noticeable in a positive way that most of the conversations are well understandable and that the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix leaves a satisfying, very atmospheric impression overall. Good.

Extras: The just under twenty minutes of bonus material consists of three additional scenes and an argument between Jürgen Wertheimer and Christian Stückl. The only negative thing to note is that there is no visible way to get back to the main menu from the bonus menu.

Conclusion: The Great Passion is a wonderful documentary that humorously, excitingly and most interestingly traces the emergence of the mammoth project Passion Play and the great passion of the makers behind it. In addition to the nearly two and a half hour documentary, which presents itself in good technical realization, there are nearly twenty minutes of worth seeing extras on the DVD. Anyone who appreciates engaging documentaries or has always wanted to take a look behind the scenes of the Oberammergau Passion Play should definitely not miss this fine DVD

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp