Ripples

The full effect of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of The Christ" has still not been fully measured. There have been reactions to the film itself, but what hasn't been seen yet is the new wave of films that were bound to be inspired by Gibson's epic.

Until now. We may soon be seeing the first of the films that were put in motion when "The Passion" first hit theaters. Like a rock thrown into a lake, "The Passion" made a big splash, but it has most likely had a ripple effect on other filmmakers. Their films may not be as big as the inital rock, but they could be seen as a good sign of a fresh breath being blown into Hollywood allowing them to release more Christian-themed films.

The only question that remains is: what influence will Hollywood have on the substance of these movies? With the Christian message get through with minimal editing? Well, New Line Cinema will give us a first glimpse this Christmas with the release of "The Nativity Story".

I could be just reading a bit much into it, but even the title evokes "The Passion" a little bit, which could be taken as an indicator (albeit small) that the film follows in the same vein. The trailer gives more hints of this from the slow motion footage to the soundtrack.

Or it could all be a bait-and-switch operation. "We look just like 'The Passion'!... but with a DaVinci Code twist!" Maybe I'm a little paranoid, but I'll try to remain hopeful.

Stay tuned.