El nacimiento

When it comes to biblical movies, I always look for accurate biblical and theological rendering first and foremost. But accuracy is not necessarily enjoyable. You can easily tell if a movie is low-budget or not. You can easily tell if the acting is superficial or not.

This movie is different. It combines biblical accuracy with excellent acting. Each character was portrayed very correctly. I have studied the biblical characters immensely; and from what we have in the synoptic gospels, the actors brought to live those beloved characters of the bible.

This is a Christian movie filled with biblical themes and messages. If you are looking for different interpretation than the biblical one, you might not like it. But if you are looking for good acting or accurate biblical rendering, you will not be disappointed.

Treat yourself this Christmas to one of the most beautiful movies.

The Nativity Story is by no means a commercial portrayal of the Biblical story. I'll admit this. The power of the film and what, in my view, makes it far and away the best thing to happen to Christmas films in a long time is that it is indeed a realistic portrayal of human emotions.

When I say the previews for the release I knew that this was going to be something interesting. Since the movie is based on the lovable retelling of Jesus' birth, I knew that I wouldn't be disappointed. And after leaving the theaters, to say the least, I was pleased.

The acting was phenomenal. To say that I completely fell in love with the character of Mary, whom was brilliantly played by Keisha Castle-Hughes, would be a complete understatement. Someone who was so pure, obedient, and virtuous is in my mind what all of us should attempt to become. As Mary stated "I have broken no vow." It is clear that Castle-Huhghes has acquired the maturity and intellect that was essential in playing such a prestigious role.I loved how the film acknowledges that Mary was only a child when she became the mother of Jesus, and the movie shows the emotional transformation of Mary. During her pregnancy Mary had experienced the power of bravery, the depth of kindness, the miracle of life and the profoundness of love. As a result she had grown from a frightened and unaccepted child to a woman.

I appreciated the portrayal of Joseph in the film. In the Catholic Church Joseph is rarely though of however in this film he was incredibly realistic and acted exactly as I have always imagined Joseph. Though Joseph was frightened he was humble. As Mary stated, "he is a man that puts others needs before his." He protected, cared and loved Mary, despite what others thought of her. Congrats to Oscar Isaac for doing an amazing job as portraying Josephs character.

What I find to be the most brilliant about the film is that it is as nonreligious as possible. The movie is in many ways a gritty love story about a couple and their growing relationship through times of tragedy. Catherine Hardwicke has a reputation for directing films that portray the gritty teenage essence, and she takes her talent of amazing depictions of the teenage nature to the story of the beloved Virgin Mary. This is an excellent Christmas film and I encourage everyone to see it!

Recently, Hollywood has put out a number of movies ("Noah" & "Exodus: Gods and Kings") that essentially remove the presence of God from religious stories. This, obviously, causes those films to fail on both a religious and storytelling front. "The Nativity Story" is not an incredible movie, by any stretch of the imagination (nowhere near, say, "The Passion of the Christ"). Yet, after witnessing those previously mentioned failures, there is something to be said for a simple film telling the story of the birth of Jesus Christ.

"The Nativity Story" recounts the events leading up to the birth of Jesus. Mary (Keisha Castle- Hughes) is given as wife to Joseph (Oscar Isaac), after which she becomes pregnant with the Lord's child. This doesn't go over so well in the community, for obvious reasons. But, the two commit to each other and must travel to Bethlehem for a census proclaimed by King Herod (Ciaran Hinds). The rest, as they say, is history!

This is a very simple film. It's only about an hour and a half long, so it "gets to the point" in short order. I wish some of the acting performances would have had a bit more "oomph" behind them, but this was clearly a film where the tone was going to be somber and serious all the way through. Hence, a lot of far away stares and wide eyes. The parts with Herod seem a bit rushed and out of place, while there really isn't any high drama until the very end. Like I said, simple.

If I had to guess (and I honestly do not know this for sure whatsoever), I would bet that "The Nativity Story" was made (just two years after "Passion of the Christ") to capitalize on the popularity of Mel Gibson's smashing success. I remember it being a big deal when this came to theaters, hailed as the first true-to-form, serious re-telling of the Christmas Story (which it actually pretty much is). Over the years, that "hype" has obviously died down, but this is still a film that can be thoroughly enjoyed during its season because it made the decision to stick to what it did best: just tell the story.

This is no low budget made for TV, direct to DVD, or "preaching to the choir" type film. Quite the contrary. Like Mel Gibson's The Passion, The Nativity Story delivers the quality acting, cinematography, musical score, special effects, direction, sound, production, etc. we've grown accustomed to receiving from the most skillful members of the Motion Picture industry.

I was particularly appreciative of the way phrases in the Bible which can often be overlooked like, "Joseph...not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly." came to life on film. We see just how they would have very likely played out in the very personal lives and communities this all took place in. I found the scene riveting when Joseph labors to come up with that initial plan to send her away, and then announces it to Mary and her parents who are there with him. Also, the courage and faith needed by Joseph and Mary to believe God took on a whole new understanding when seeing how the culture they likely lived in brought intense pressures which would have very well been cause to shrink away in fear in the face of had not they obeyed the angel's charges to "do not be afraid."

A real strength of the film, I believe, was in how scenes that were straight from the Bible either used the words of the Bible practically verbatim, or at least there was just unspoken acting out the heart of the scene, with little to no unnecessary additions to the Biblical account. This, I believe, let's the Bible speak for itself for the most part and for that I send a big thank you to Mike Rich as the screenplay writer in getting to the heart of the personal lives of those involved in Jesus' conception and birth while seeking to be true to the text's original meaning. And to Catherine Hardwicke and all others involved in getting the Biblical account onto this media with all their professional skills, I say thanks as well. I'd love to see many more "Accounts" (the connotation of the word "Story" weakens the impact in my mind...but that's just me) from the Bible put to film by this great team assembled to produce The Nativity (Story).

If you believe that Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus and everyone else in the actual events were white, Anglo-Saxon Europeans living in Central Park in New York or in California, you will be disappointed with this movie. If you want to see how people really appeared, lived and responded to the actual culture in Israel at the time of the birth of Christ, this is a work of art.

"The Nativity" is an excellent depiction of the actual events as we know them from the Bible. While it has very minor "flaws", these are buried under the number of things that make this film accurate and authentic.

Mary does not wear her piety on her sleeve and get hysterical and dramatic at every turn in the story. Instead she is accurately portrayed and played as a simple peasant girl in a very traditional culture with strict rules of behavior. She responds hesitantly but with faith to the events that focus on her.

Joseph is equally realistic as a young peasant just beginning life, and any man who has ever faced marriage for the first time will appreciate the dilemmas facing Joseph and his reactions to them.

Herod is an historically-accurate and ruthless jerk, but the movie does not overdo his part. The balance is just right; he's on camera enough to convey his wickedness and his part in the plot, but not enough to distract from the message.

The wise men are great! Instead of being simple plastic figures in a nativity scene on your mantle, they really come to life, add a lot of context to the movie, and provide a lot of information about how and why things happened as they did. The timing of the wise men's arrival may be off - but no one is 100% certain when they did arrive so this is not a big deal.

When the shepherds are visited by an angel to announce the birth of Christ, the angel is not followed visibly by "a heavenly host praising God" - but you can hear them.

I could go on and on and on, but the point is that this is an excellent depiction of events that occurred in Israel 2,000 years ago. If you want to learn about and marvel at what life was really like at that time, see the movie. It will bolster your faith. If you want to see Adam Sandler playing a Jewish Santa Claus to celebrate Christimas, this is probably not the movie for you.