Quote[/b] ]The actors in this film may be unknown to American Christians who never darken the door of a movie theater, but they are quite well-known to the rest of the Western world. In fact, to say that James Caviezel and Monica Bellucci are well-known is an enormous understatement. Monica Bellucci, who plays Mary Magdalene in Gibson’s “Passion” movie, is a famous pornography star! She is quite the rage in Europe as well as “one of the hottest actresses in Hollywood” (according to one fan site). A search on the internet for “Monica Bellucci” brings up numerous pornographic websites featuring this Italian actress posing in varying degrees of nudity, partial to full. Having said this, we advise against viewing these websites. If you must verify our reporting, we recommend that only mature women view Bellucci’s Italian website.
Ms. Belluci is no ordinary porn star, but performs in such hardcore pornography films as the 2002 production, Irreversible. “Premiered at last years Cannes Film Festival, ‘Irreversible’ proved so shocking that 250 people walked out, some needing medical attention...
“Irreversible, directed by Franco-Argentinian director Gaspar Noe, describes a woman's rape and her boyfriend's bloody quest for revenge... The script consists almost entirely of expletives directed against homosexuals and women, and a scene in which Italian actress Monica Bellucci is raped lasts a horrifying 10 minutes. Shown anti-chronologically –– the violent conclusion first followed by sequences taking the viewer back through events –– the film delivers a stomach-churning opening punch set in 'Rectum,' a sado-masochist gay club.
“Fire wardens had to administer oxygen to 20 people (at the Cannes Festival) who fainted during the film - which includes a 10-minute depiction of sodomy and also contains graphic scenes of rape and murder. (The French sex-violence film Baise-Moi, which Bill Hastings failed to ban or impose cuts to, also has a lengthy explicit violent rape scene complete with penetration shots and depictions of sodomy).
“...Italian actress Monica Bellucci, whose character is raped and beaten in the film, said it was good to let people feel a range of emotions. 'This is a film that people love or they hate, but it's good to have these kind of extremes,' she said.”