The Nativity Story

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!

While in Hawaii recently, I had a chance to preview The Nativity Story, in its complete form, which, surprisingly, turned out to be quite a good film. I guess as a Christian, I am going to be seen as biased. And that's fair, however as a filmmaker as well, I will say that the majority of Christian or Christian based films I have seen are quite simply lower grade movies. That's why, this one in particular was very refreshing.

The story itself of course I was familiar with having grown up hearing it every Christmas time. And, surprisingly, I think it translates very well onto the screen. I was surprised at the humour they were able to bring out (mainly with the Three Kings storyline) and I was actually quite impressed with the movie in general. It was nice to see actors of the correct age and race. Jesus was not white, despite what some may say.

The movie was not perfect, few are. It was obviously PG friendly as there were a few things that were toned down (I guess babies in that day didn't have umbilical cords), but do we really need to see that? No, not really. All in all it was a very enjoyable film that hopefully makes its way as a holiday classic for years to come.

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).

As a Catholic/Christian publisher I did not expect the integrity that the movie The Nativity Story presents. The story is produced with good taste and careful thought. At times the Scripture may be bent but it is never broken. The bends are simply to aid in the visual telling of the story and are not offensive.

I found it to be very good family viewing with minimal violence and the scenes were not graphic in nature. The lesson in family love alone is worth the price of a ticket. The bonus is the lesson in faith and trust in God. I would encourage you to take children of all ages.

The theology should be acceptable to all Christians. However, I did talk to one priest that had a problem with the childbirth scene. He subscribes to the theology that Mary's childbirth was not painful. I understand his theology but I disagree with it on the grounds of Jesus and Mary's humanity. Also the arrival of the Wise Men at the time of the birth though not correct does not hurt the story. Still I feel that these small problems would be a poor and unjust reason not to see, or tell others not to see this movie.

Of all the versions of this story that have been done I found it to be the most inspiring and visually the most tastefully done. At last we have a great family movie that puts Christ back into Christmas.

Executive Director Contemplation Corner Press

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.