Joseph and Mary

If you go into this movie expecting historical or biblical accuracy then, of course, you'll be disappointed. However, if you did what I did and watched a story in which the writers took creative license then you'll enjoy yourself. Kevin Sorbo gives a good performance.

It was good to finally see a Joseph who is a loving father, a counsellor and a guardian of his son. In the usual biblical stories, we see a Joseph who is somewhat "estranged" to Jesus as if calling himself His father was a blasphemy. In this version, Joseph is the lead character who makes a point to be Jesus's earthly protector and father.

We also follow the story of Elijah a rabbi and Rebekah who suffered from the consequences of King Herod's orders in the killing of all boys age two and younger in an attempt to kill Jesus. The message they try to project is the idea of compassion and forgiveness.

I enjoyed it and I don't usually watch religious movies.

Herod is the ruthless King who raises taxes for his extravagant vision. Joseph (Kevin Sorbo) and a pregnant Mary live a simple life and help those in need. They find no room in Jerusalem as they arrive for the census. Their friend Rabbi Elijah is taken with Rebekah who was left a widow after her husband was killed by Herod's tax collector.

The first half is an expanded version of the Nativity of Jesus. I'm not a biblical scholar. I'm not going to get into an argument over any biblical issues. As a movie, the production is a step below. More than anything, the directing is not helping. The second half is young Jesus and that's probably the more controversial. I don't know what to think about it other than it's not necessarily good narrative story telling. It's a series of young Jesus saying familiar biblical phrases and doing Jesus things. That's not a story but it's an interesting religious exercise. The best story comes from Rebekah's quest for revenge. It's better than Elijah's ethical conflict. Maybe if the movie concentrates on Rebekah. She has the biggest struggle and the largest possible character arc. This movie should be Rebekah and Jesus, not Joseph and Mary. Sorbo is doing weak Sorbo things and Mary is barely one dimensional.

However, you won't find much here. Most of the characters are a believably attired except 'Rebecca'. The actress must have rushed from a modern-day movie shoot to film this, with makeup and ruby-red lipstick. Unfortunately, she added nothing to the movie. sigh

Braveheart has several historical inaccuracies, yet won the film won FIVE Oscars, including Best Picture. So, enjoy this movie, Joseph & Mary, for the story it does tell and you will be pleased. It's a quick watch and.actually has some good acting from Kevin Sorbo, who plays Joseph and Lara Jean Chorostecki and plays Mary.

The story is a biblical drama that is almost a two act play and follows Elijah, a devout Rabbi, almost as much as the story follows Joseph and Mary.

Anyone with any film or television experience, will tell you that actors wear makeup and lipstick, or else they will look as pale as a ghost, so some of these other reviews are just nonsense. Give the film a chance, it also has better reviews on other site, just lower on IMDB for some reason until others also give it the score it deserves based on the film itself.