By BILL HOWARD
Texas Catholic Online Film Critic

On Feb. 20, 2004, just five days prior to the theatrical release of “The Passion of the Christ,”  Maia Morgenstern, the Romanian actress who played Mary, sat down for a 20-minute interview with myself and United Methodist Reporter film critic Ron Salfen at the Crescent Hotel in downtown Dallas.

Morgenstern studied theater at the famous Film and Theatre Academy in Bucharest and has been a member of three prominent Romanian theater organizations: Piatra Neamt National Theater (1985-'88); State Jewish Theatre (1988-'90); and the National Theatre (1990-present).

While she is popular in her home country from nearly 20 years in theater, “The Passion” is by far Morgenstern’s biggest role on screen. She has appeared in dozens of Romanian films and several international films, the most popular in the United States being “The Seventh Room” and “Ulysses’ Gaze.” She believes her best film work prior to “The Passion” is in Lucian Pintelle’s “Balanta” and Janos Szasz’s “Witman fiúk” (The Witman Boys).

In "The Passion," Morgenstern had an acclaimed performance that conveyed her agony and acceptance more through facial expressions than words. The Virgin Mary's role in salvation history was stressed by Gibson, which made Morgenstern's performance all the more scruitinized by Catholic and Christian viewers.

In the brief time we had, she spoke of the electric (sometimes literally) atmosphere on the set, as well as the close-knit community the cast formed. With slightly broken English and a great sense of humor, Morgenstern held an energetic and elegant presence in the interview.

Tell me about learning Aramaic. Was it extraordinary difficult?

It was extraordinarily not difficult at all. Of course we were learning phonetically. I have to say also a big thank you to our coach who worked with us, and Father William Fulco (Chair of Mediterranean Studies at Loyola Marymount University). He worked with us all the time and helped us enormously. Because it was such a good atmosphere on the set, how can I say… we arrived in the point where we wanted to improvise in Aramaic and Latin. It was a little difficult. Let me share with you my memories. We would sit, for example, with a Latin dictionary of proverbs and important words from history. We were trying to find something and we found something else. How interesting it was! It was casual research. I have to confess it was wonderful. You know what? Our coach had an enormous book with proverbs and very important words. She left the book in one room and somebody took it. Somebody wanted the book so much that it disappeared. Production bought another one. Is it a sin? Who knows? I don’t have the answer.

It was a difficult film to watch. Was it difficult to make?

We were extremely motivated. I know I said this before but I want to underline again that we were so motivated. We knew exactly why we were working and what we were doing. Mr. Gibson helped every actor, everybody. We were working very hard with Caleb Deschanel, the cinematographer. We were starting work at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m., even earlier for Jim Caviezel (who played Jesus), but nobody ever complained. We were trying to look for every detail, every moment, every light, every shadow. There were people working there, actors from different countries and cultures and religions… technicians, cameramen . . . we were all together looking for the best we could do.

You were covered for most of the movie so you were forced to rely on facial expressions. Was that a particular burden on your acting?

I was so happy and motivated that I could express, through my hands and face and eyes, my emotions and my feelings and my thoughts. I do remember, and I’m so grateful, that Mr. Gibson always asked me about a stoic performance . . . about the dignity of a woman, of a mother. We were trying by all means to avoid clichés on portraying a mother, but looking very deep inside and trying to find real and pure emotions . . . good feelings, bad feelings, from weakness to forgiveness, from desperation to love, from hate to kindness, from a sense of humor to stoicism.

What did you see as Mary’s strengths?

Everything, actually, even in her weakness. We were looking so much for a human . . . um . . . a real motherhood. A mother finds strength even giving birth to a child, supporting, enduring, loving, calling him for lunch… and I do remember and I’m so glad we started filming on this very specific flashback. She’s a mother, she calls her son: “Lunchtime,  now! Meal!” Whatever you’re doing --carpentry or doing a revolution or a philosopher or whatever -- “Now it’s lunchtime. But first, watch your hands.” Speaking of improvisation in Aramaic. . . (laughs)

So that was improvised?

Yes.

And that was the first scene you shot?

Yes, but we rehearsed before and again and again and again. I’m so grateful Mr. Gibson did a lot of rehearsal. We started with a big rehearsal, and we were all together. I do remember very well actors coming from France, Romania, Italy, Bulgaria. We were not at all good English speakers. It worked like this . . . with a big reading . . . “And . . . the . . . British . . . I mean, brutish . . . soldiers” (laughs). It is funny but I want to say the film also has this message that a human being with a weapon in his hands turns easily to a beast in front of a harmless other human being with chains on his wrists. It doesn’t matter if you’re dressed like you’re Roman, Jewish or a temple soldier. Having a weapon in your hand can turn you into an uncontrolled beast.

I want to ask you about the scene where Jesus is taken down from the cross and you stare into the camera.

We used to call this moment when I was coming onto the set, La Pieta. “Are you ready for La Pieta? No, we are not ready to do La Pieta. No, because of the weather, we are going to do La pieta.” We were trying to shoot, to bring on the set in our emotions the feeling, the meaning of La Pieta of Michelangelo. I have to confess one of my sources of inspiration is La Pieta of Michelangelo. Unfortunately, we are watching the news every day on television… war is a source, sad to say, of inspiration. Because the film is a warning for me (that) humanity didn’t learn anything from its history, from the atrocities that happened 5,000 years ago, 2,000 years ago, 100 years ago, 10 years ago, last year . . . ‘I know what you did last summer,’ they say?

Was there evidence of Christianity and faith practiced on the set or was it mostly business?

We were actors on the set, we were doing the film and working very hard. Nobody was pushed in one direction or another. Nobody felt uncomfortable. Was it like there was something very mysterious that nobody understands except us? No. We were actors on the set. I remember Mr. Caviezel with the chains on his wrists one night actually very late because we needed to work on the set at night at La Cinecitta, he came to me and Monica Bellucci – we were waiting for our turn to shoot. And we were starting to think like actor to actor. He was very nice and very friendly. He started asking about our families, our husbands. It was very fun. “And how did you marry? Where did you meet him? OK, let me move my drink.” (laughs) You could hear also for the continuity… “Wait, wait, wait . . . some more blood on Ms. Morgenstern’s nose, please.” There were good days, bad days, sunny days, windy days, influenza, nerves, happiness. . .

Lightning. . .

Yes (laughs)

You were pregnant for part of the shoot or all of the shoot?

My child was born April 21 last year.

A month or six weeks after principal photography?

(Nods her head yes)

That would have to add some kind of extra emotion as you’re going through this filming, the mother-child relationship.

Honestly, I really don’t know what to tell you. I wouldn’t say if you want to be a good actress, let’s all get pregnant. . . (laughs). I really don’t know the answer. Having the child . . . she’s beautiful although she doesn’t eat very well, and I’m desperate as a mother, I tell you. (laughs) She’s my third child. I’m crazy. Every meal, every coughing is a disaster. I’m trying to be an artist. They say that in the renaissance, that all the models for painters and sculpture were pregnant ladies because, and they are probably are right, having a child brings a special glow on your face. That doesn’t mean that every role I take, I’ll be pregnant (laughs).

Mr. Gibson was very active in filming?

Very, very. I mean, there’s a lot of attention in each detail. Every movement, every gesture, every intention. He asked us about our feelings, our thoughts, our ideas. Not because he was seeking advice, because he knew exactly what he was doing. But he wanted to know what we were thinking. We are actors, obviously, on the set. He invited us to express our creativity. I remember in the very beginning, he said, “OK guys, if you tell me you want to come on the set on the moment on a Harley Davidson, just explain to me why and you can.” Of course, it’s a metaphorical way of speaking like the film is.

What did you think of the Resurrection scene?

It’s a very poetical scene. Beautiful, simple.

What other type of art do you do? Do you sculpt? Paint?

I am an actor. I also do a lot of stage work. I do a lot of theater (in Romania) and love it very much. I used to work with Andrei Serban. I used to work in Monmouth Theater in New York. After the (Romanian) revolution in 1989-90, I worked on stage in the Ancient Greek Theater. We actors were asked to perform in Ancient Greek and Latin. It was a big discussion, big controversy… who’s going to understand? I’m talking about theater, where there’s no subtitles… nothing. But it was a language of emotion. It worked very well from all points of view, even commercially. The theater was full, full, full every night and everyone understood. What I’m trying to say is speaking Aramaic and Latin was sort of like we are all starting from zero. The language of art. It’s not like Mr. Caviezel speaks better English or Monica Bellucci better Italian . . . we are all together starting from zero and trying to express our emotions through sound, words, and language.

Having everyone speak Aramaic accomplished the purpose of not contrasting the accents. If you were speaking in English, you would’ve had different accents. But doing it in Aramaic eliminated the accents.

No . . . I don’t agree totally. Because we had colleagues coming from Morocco and Algiers speaking the Arabic language and who were so good in Aramaic. I got so frustrated! (laughs) I had to work and they were, like, swimming. What I’m trying to say is they’re sister languages. I envied them so much.

But you learned the script phonetically?

Yes, but I have to tell you the atmosphere was so good on the set. We worked so hard . . . mostly Mr. Caviezel worked so hard and had the makeup and everything and never complained. He was always there to help us for dialogue even through he was not in the shot. He was there for actor-to-actor relation.

Maia, thank you. We think “The Passion” will have a great impact around the world.

I do hope very much and it deserves it.

Everyone is very proud of what they did?

I am. I am. And I think the film is universal. It speaks for everybody.