La nativité

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

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.

This is a fine portrayal based on early existence of Mary (Keisha Castle Hughes), and Joseph (Oscar Isaac). A story well known and sacred that starts when birth of Jesus is announced to Mary by Angel Gabriel (Alexander Siddig). Meanwhile is also announced future birth of John the Baptist from the old couple Elizabeth (Shoreh) and Zechariah (Townsend). Mary learns from the angel Gabriel that she will conceive and bear a child called Jesus. When she asks how this can be, since she is a virgin, he tells her that the Holy Spirit would "come upon her" and that "nothing will be impossible with God". She responds: "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word".At the beginning Joseph is suspicious when Mary announces the blessed news but later is informed by an Angel.At the time that Mary is due to give birth, she and her husband Joseph travel from their home in Nazareth about 150 kilometres (90 miles) south to Joseph's ancestral home in Bethlehem to register in the census ordered by Herodes the Great (Ciaran Hinds). Meanwhile three Magician Kings Melchior(Nadim), Gaspar (Kalipha) and Bathasar (Eriq) are looking for Jesus, Son of God. Having found no place for themselves in the inn, Joseph and Mary meet a man who gives the couple a place in his stable. Mary gives birth to Jesus she places the newborn in a manger .Meantime an angel of the Lord visits the shepherds guarding their flocks in nearby fields and brings them "good news of great joy": "to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord." The angel tells them they will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger. The angel is joined by a "heavenly host" who say "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!".The shepherds hurry to the manger in Bethlehem where they find Jesus with Mary and Joseph. They repeat what they have been told by the angel, and then return to their flocks.

This agreeable film focuses the Nativity story in a realist style , but also accompanied with beautiful images, as there are shafts of lights , wonderful clouds and extraordinary landscapes. It packs marvelous cinematography by Elliot Davis who reflects splendidly the ancient scenarios filmed at Italy and Morocco. Atmospheric and emotive musical score adding oriental sounds by Mychael Danna. The motion picture was well directed Catherine Hardwicke who formerly directed 'Thirteen' and 'Lords of Dogtown' and subsequently would achieved a lot of success with 'Twilight'.

The nativity story ,told by a woman with taste and sensitivity.Faithful to the gospels,while avoiding most of the Hollywood traps (except for the light that comes down from the sky,in the "Ben Hur" tradition) Much time is given over to the Magi ,but they were scientists after all,and their huge knowledge of astronomy makes sense.

All the well-known episodes are featured: the angel telling Mary she would conceive the son of God,the way the Jews used to treat their supposedly unfaithful women,the visit to Mary's cousin Elizabeth who's expecting a baby too (Jesus ' cousin,John The Baptist ;Herode Antipas,featured in the movie ,will have him behead),and the crib.Traditionnaly,however, the Magi did not arrive before the Twelfth Night.

It could be the first movie dealing with just the birth of Christ,the many others telling the whole story.You do not have to be a believer to appreciate it.

A deeply moving movie experience. Slow yes, but then this is not our usual brain numbing mindless action flick. It's about human emotions and inner conflicts, and what a fine way to portray the same on screen.

A vastly underrated film that is sure to touch your heart the same way Shawshank Redemption did. A must watch for every serious movie lover and a definite must watch for a devout Christian.

Note: I am not a Christian and I still find this movie worthy of a repeat viewing. This movie, like Shawshank Redemption is all about Faith, Hope and Love. ...and believing.

I was watching this movie just a little after MIDNIGHT and it was raining heavily with heavy flashes of Lightning and huge/loud rolls of Thunder. This effect enhanced the overall "atmosphere" of my movie watching experience, ...and hard to believe, but the whole rain, lightning & thunder thing stopped as the movie wound to an end :-)