‘We at War’: Pilate for the New Millennium

After recounting the personal story of seeing Mel Gibson’s controversial but compelling The Passion of the Christ in a crowded theatre shortly after its premiere in 2004, the author reflects upon the performance of the gruff Bulgarian actor, Hristo Shopov, as Pontius Pilate. Set against his more compassionate wife played by Claudia Gerini, this Pilate speaks in Latin and Aramaic, but he seems motivated by twenty-first century concerns for power and position. Shopov will appear again as Pilate in the less compelling Italian production La Inchiesta (The Final Inquiry) from 2006. Several versions of the Passion narrative that have Pilate at their centre are made a decade later: the best of these is Risen, with Joseph Fiennes as a centurion-turned detective Clavius ordered to find Christ’s body by Peter Firth’s Pilate. Two productions by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey likewise appear in 2016. The remake of Ben-Hur features Pilous Asbaek as Pilate, while the NBC miniseries, A.D. The Bible Continues stars Vince Regan in the part. Each of these prefects is notable for his over-the-top villainy, while the vehicles as a whole reflect the increasingly militarised world that dawned after 9/11.