There have been endless debates about "The Passion of the Christ," which was shut out of contention for Oscar's biggest honors. But one striking aspect of the film has stood apart from controversy: veteran cinematographer Caleb Deschanel's work on "Passion's" look and feel, which earns him his fifth Oscar nod and one of the three nominations the film has received.
Deschanel has worked on such films as "Being There," "The Black Stallion," "The Right Stuff," and "The Natural." But it was clear from the start that "The Passion," which earned more than $370 million at the domestic box office and found itself on the front line of election year "culture wars," would demand a different sort of artistry and depth.
To begin with, Deschanel -- who was raised a Quaker -- came to the story of the final hours of Jesus Christ with little background knowledge.
"It's embarrassing to say," Deschanel said, "but honestly, I didn't know the story. And I found it really moving and thought it was really powerful emotionally. To me it was this wonderful pacifist message ... the idea of resisting revenge and forgiving the people who are attacking you."
Then he learned that Mel Gibson -- the director, co-screenwriter and producer of "The Passion" -- wanted to tell the story in ancient languages: "When Mel first came to me and said, 'We're gonna do it in Aramaic and Latin,' it was just so far-out an idea, I thought, 'Wow, this is great, I just have to do this, this is really going to be something.' "
Deschanel, who had previously worked with Gibson on "The Patriot," said that as the two men began talking about "The Passion," both agreed on an inspiration: the classically burnished naturalism of the Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio. Deschanel also planned to draw on extensive research he had done into depictions of the events of the movie from all corners of art history, from the Renaissance to the modern day, from Giotto to Dali.
In the end, the research became what Deschanel refers to as "a catalog of ideas," and he notes "there isn't any specific shot in the movie that references any specific painting. They were more inspirational." As well, though Deschanel looked at a number of films previously shot in the same locations, most notably Pier Paolo Pasolini's "The Gospel According to St. Matthew," he consciously avoided modeling the look of any previous biblical-themed films.
