Why is The Passion of the Christ so successful?

Jonathan Aitken recently toured five states in the U.S. to evaluate The Passion and his report was recently carried in an issue of the Financial Times.

We quote:

“I have never been to a film at which a significant percentage of the audience continually weeps. I count six handkerchiefs dabbing eyes immediately to my left and hear gasps throughout the theater.

“There’s no popcorn, ice cream or movement in the seats. And many women, including my 23-year old daughter, keep putting their hands over their eyes…When the film ends, nobody moves. People stay in their seats, perhaps in shock; perhaps in reverence. Then they trickle away in silence. I’ve never seen such decorum in a cinema.

“In every city on my 5-state tour, I would hear reports of similar tears, gasps and stillness at the end of the film. It is a reminder that America is still a country where 65% of the population are church-goers (half of them go every week) and 43% of those describe themselves as born-again Christians.”