The Nativity

I have seen 2 versions of this story and this is the better one. We all know the story of the birth of Jesus which is a burden on filmmakers. Because we know the story they still have to make an entertaining film and not bore the audience. They also have to be accurate. With all these built in expectation they were able to deliver a film that should please most people.

Even if don't believe the story of the birth of Jesus this is still a film you will enjoy. It moves quickly and it also gives you a since of what life was like for people 2000 years ago. The casting is excellent. Nobody is miscast. Everyone behaves how you expect them to behave in the situations that they are in.

I think most people should watch this film. If gives you a since that you "Must Have Faith". Without "Faith" is like having "No Air"

Well Done! I will watch this again.

This was great stuff. It was delighted to stumble across this BBC mini series from 2010 over the course of the festive break.

It's a really clever idea to reimagine the story that we've seen and heard told in so many different ways but from a modern (well, 2010) approach.

It's written by Tony Jordan of EastEnders fame too, so that's another mark of quality.

The characters have never been so engaging or relatable, and that's no bad thing.

This is well written and well performed drama, that just happens to be a retelling of The Nativity.

It does rather rush its final episode though, but other than that this was great.

It popped up on my kindle. I'm a fan of The Chosen and Dallas Jenkins' The Shephards, but productions can - and need to - stand on their own two feet even with the bar set so high. I watched the first episode opf The Nativity and about 2 minuites into the 2nd, but am stopping there.

Set design and costumes are superbly done. But what's with the 3 kings mention of Saturn and Jupiter? And desert might be hard to find in England, but I'm quite sure Joseph and Mary couldn't wander off alone together to hang out in greenery OR in the desert during their betrothal. They were lucky if they got to see each other much - supervised - much less UNsupervised.

Gabriel - we don't need light and drama theatrics but this is an angel who is frequently in the glory of God. I know people who have vision and have seen angels - the warrior ones are young, strong, and carry some serious weapons. Their light is often substantial. Gabriel may not be a general warrior angel, but I'm quite sure he isn't old with a slightly dirty face and a quite non-white garment, especially spending so much time in Heaven.

The Chosen provides backstories to the gospels, but they are credible and are plausible and scripturally accurate even so. The scene with Mary and Gabriel was....not so much on either count. A little too much liberty there. In fact - Mary saying "I don't believe you" is even a harsher version of what. Zechariah said to Gabriel (How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.") and that got HIM mute for Elizabeth's pregnancy with John the Baptist.

And while we're at it, could we at least have had Mary say something along the lines of "Let it be done according to His will" rather than just smile charmingly and Gabriel disappears?

Interspersed with the backstory are scenes of them approaching Bethlehem. Episode 1 begins with it. I was like "Is Joseph mad at Mary? What's up with that?" Beginning of episode 2 - yes, joseph is very cool to Mary. Well, okay, he might have been, but he also had a dream and decided to marry her, and had to stick by her in some difficult times so.......what's his deal?

A narrative summary about The Nativity says they have trouble in Bethlehem too. Bethelehm was very far away from Nazareth. Additionally, Mary and Joseph are nobodies from a nowhere town. That anyone would know them in Bethlehem seems a bit far fatched - but it makes for good drama I guess.

If the deviation is that great this early on, and the fiction is this IMplausable so far, I can only assume it continues or gets worse.

2023 had a cute little musical movie called Bethlehem - that one took some serious license also, but was light hearted with song and dance. Kind of a kids' thing that put a smile on adult faces. But this one takes has too many errors in its presentation of the story's reverence.

I agree with the other reviewers. This retelling of the Christian nativity story is a very pleasant surprise. No one is surrounded by any weird glows; schmaltzy music does not swell every three minutes. Angels are not accompanied by sparkly fog. The storyline contains no surprises, of course. The biggest liberty the screenwriters take is to speed up the wise men's arrival.

I've always wondered why nativity retellings didn't make more of the Joseph character. This one finally does, and it turns out that treating Joseph as a three-dimensional character central to the plot worked even better than I thought it would. This Joseph is fully believable and just as conflicted and confused as one would expect. He is a good man who wants to be good to his word and who fully expected his fiancée to be true to hers. This treatment made me realize that Joseph's story is probably more relevant to regular humans than those of the other characters. Joseph is fully human, non-divine, non-chosen, no one special--a regular Joe (sorry!) just like you and me. He had the choice to trust and risk looking like a world-class chump, or to protect his pride by refusing to trust. That's a dilemma that is worth watching, even if you know how the story comes out in the end.

Three stories connected to the virgin birth from 1 year before. Thomas the shepherd from Bethlehem is struggling. The three Magi are debating then traveling to the birth. And in Nazareth, Joseph starts a new life with Mary.

The biblical story is given a more complex reading. What would happen to Mary if she becomes pregnant without Joseph? She is shunned by the town and most importantly by Joseph. Her father is able to convince Joseph to take Mary to Bethlehem where they hoped Mary would be able escape the shame. But even there, her shame is well known and she is turned away.

That adds much more humanity to the story. And I think it adds more drama. Tatiana Maslany do a good job. If they could get to the pregnancy earlier, it would make it even more compelling.