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"If it's before hours, aren't all of them empty?" Bonnema recalled asking In the end, as Jesus rises from the grave, some in the audience quietly celebrated Bonnema, who spent $42,000 of his own money on tickets, planned showings starting at 6:30 a
"When you see the sacrifice that Jesus made, it makes you feel like, I have to do something better with my life," said Bonnema, 50, a lifelong Christian inspired to act after seeing a special screening of the movie Thousands Get First Look at 'The Passion'
Feb 25, 7:36 AM EST
It may be subtitled, and it may be staggeringly gory, yet Christians across the country also expect that seeing Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" will be a profoundly moving experience
"I think if you're a Christian it will increase your faith ten-fold in what Christ has done for you Some have praised Gibson's total commitment to his subject: The Oscar-winning filmmaker says the movie is both an attempt to faithfully render the Gospels and a personal vision thepassionofthechrist
So much so that some were willing to rise before dawn Wednesday â€â€? Ash Wednesday on the traditional Christian calendar â€â€? to catch the film on its opening day before many people had finished breakfast I'm physically weak
After seeing "The Passion" a few months ago, Bonnema called his wife, Sherry, and told her, "Honey, we've got to get as many people as we can to see this film because it's changed my life
"I put out an e-mail to friends in the Dallas-Fort Worth area," Arch Bonnema said "So I called my wife back and said, 'What do you think about getting 6,000 seats?'"
She agreed, even though she hadn't seen the film herself It's about triumph
A cadre of ministers, meanwhile, planned to be on hand We anticipate that there will be a tremendous outpouring of God's favor on this movie
The Bonnemas gave 3,000 tickets to their church and 1,000 to the Dallas Theological Seminary More than a 100 people watched the midnight showing of "The Passion" at the Archlight Cinema in Los Angeles "
Ordinarily, showing the same movie on 20 screens would be impossible because of a lack of prints, said Terrell Falk, spokeswoman for Plano-based Cinemark USA, which owns about 300 theaters in 33 states com
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With her blessing, he approached Cinemark about reserving a single auditorium I'm emotional," said Joseph Camerieri, a 39-year-old paralegal student from Los Angeles, who was trying to hold back his tears
"It is rated R for reality," the Rev
"We'll show it early in the morning, then take them to the other theaters," Falk said
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Associated Press Writer Angela Watercutter in Los Angeles contributed to this report
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On the Net:
"The Passion of the Christ": http://www
But following months of hype, curiosity about the movie is almost insatiable m "I'm like, 'Oh, victory!' There's more to this movie than just the violence "In three days, I had 23,000 requests "
Funded and directed by Gibson, the film has received decidedly mixed reviews from critics "
In Plano, Arch Bonnema, a financial planner and member of the church where Graham is pastor â€â€? Prestonwood Baptist â€â€? reserved the entire Cinemark Tinseltown 20 theater in town
Jack Graham, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, said of Gibson's gruesome portrayal of Jesus' torture and crucifixion Viewers groaned as Jesus was nailed to the cross, and muffled cries could be heard during more than an hour of Jesus' torture, crucifixion and death
That left them with 2,000 â€â€? but not for long Theater officials told him that would be fine, but he would need to do so before regular operating hours If you're not a Christian, you'll probably treat others with more love Others see it as excessively bloody, obsessed with cruelty and unfair in its portrayal of Jews CST
"Not to preach a sermon," said Graham, "but to sum up the message and meaning of the cross
"I'm in shock
"To me, that was the important part," said Aaron Tucker, an English major at Penn State "
In the central Pennsylvania community of Bellefonte, about 50 people attended a showing after midnight
That included 6,000 people who planned to fill all 20 auditoriums at a Cinemark theater in this Dallas suburb
But in this case, Cinemark made special arrangements to borrow prints from its other area theaters
Across the nation, believers and nonbelievers alike poured into theaters
Popcorn and soft drinks remained on the concession menu â€â€? but theater managers were betting most early-morning moviegoers would choose specially prepared breakfast pastries and orange juice |