Maria di Nazaret

Good day: The Father and the Son are the Parents of the Holy Spirit, if many churches are correct. The Trinity is a Family-- two Parents and an Offspring, if many churches are correct.In the Book of Job which is part of the bible,the Lord is compared to a father and also a mother with a womb. "From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens"--Job 38:29. What is written in this paragraph (before this sentence) is compatible with Catholic Church doctrine. Saying that the "Father and the Son are the Parents of the Holy Spirit" is simply another way of saying that the Holy Spirit "proceeds from the Father and the Son" which has been official Catholic Church teaching for centuries. Of course, The scriptures are vague if the Holy Spirit is the 3rd or 1st or 2nd Person of the Trinity--whichever of these is true,the First Person and the Second Person may be the Parents of the Third.

I believe that much effort has been put into this rendition, but there are scenes with Herod's brood and entourage that are distracting and seem to be purely imagined rather than based on reliable sources. I think that extra-biblical sources were consulted, which is certainly ok but I sometimes had trouble distinguishing what came from a reliable source and what was made up.

The best character depiction, in my opinion, is that of Joseph. The least credible depiction, to me, is Jesus. While most everyone else seems to "fit" the region, Jesus looks purely "Anglo" or Germanic--anything but Middle-Eastern. Worse, as a baby he is somewhat dark; as a child he is much lighter; as an an adult, quite Aryan. I was thrown off by this casting.

Those who have read about the story/history of the Virgin Mary know that her family's story is a remarkable one. Mary of Nazareth simply tells the story of Jesus Christ's birth to death all over again -- which of course anyone who wants to see that should watch the famous Zeffirelli version, where the actors, costumes and sets are more authentic. The leading actress seems rather fake in many instances.

The saving grace of the film is St. Joseph, who is relatively well portrayed as the humble and loving husband and father. (No spoilers, but this is literally the best part of the film.)

The film should have focused much more on the story of the title character... through her remarkable death, which does not happen at all. A very disappointing film.

We just saw Mary of Nazareth last evening and it was wonderful! Our church rented the screen for the evening. The experienced was enhanced by our praying the Rosary as an audience prior to the movie beginning. What a shame that a movie like this is not readily available to the public. The portrayal of Mary was done so beautifully - her purity and innocence just shone through! The role of Joseph was realistic and heartfelt. I loved the respect that St. Joseph was shone in this portrayal as protector of his precious family. We loved the portrayal of Mary's relationship with Jesus which is very emotional at times. I have seen so many biblical movies but this one was the most tender, gentle and beautiful witness of our Mother and her Son. I would see this movie again in a heartbeat and would strongly recommend it to all believers.

A wonderful telling of one of the most famous stories in history, the life of Christ, even though interestingly, there is a twist - the story is portrayed from the perspective of Mary, Christ's mother even to the point where a fragment of Mary's childhood is shown; the fact were she narrowly escapes danger sort of tells that the battle of Christ's work on Earth was fought from even when Mary was a little girl. All in all despite the suggestive scenes most of which indicate the element of truth in the story, this story delivers a message, and many of these suggestive scenes are dwarfed by the numerous touching scenes that deliver the message in this film. It's one of those movie where parental guidance is advised for younger viewers, but it is a MUST WATCH.