The Nativity Story

source: The Nativity Story

I really liked this movie! I thought all of the acting was very Very good-- and I loved the fact that all of the actors looked and acted very much like you would expect the people of that region to look and act... this was not a Hollywood whitewash - but a genuine, tenderly done telling of the birth of Christ... a real Christmas gift to the movie-going public. I also appreciate very much the efforts the filmmakers have gone to tell the story accurately-- aside from the fact the wise men most likely really showed up a year or so after Jesus was born.. Get some real Christmas spirit - go see this movie.

At 12.54pm while watching the movie I missed a phone call. My friend Eleanor had given birth to a baby girl on the kitchen floor. The birth was a day early. Eleanor's partner Lawrence had assisted, phone in hand to the emergency services, who gave step by step instructions. I missed the call due to being in my cuckoo land of choice, a.k.a. the cinema. At almost exactly that time I was watching an unrealistic 'birth' in what could be a Star Trek episode on an unevolved planet, details like umbilical cords neatly censored out. Occasionally the cast in those early TV shows would visit some primitive civilisation and observe the wacky beliefs of locals. Except it wasn't Star Trek. It was The Nativity Story, a lukewarm tale set in the Middle East where a couple of women get pregnant and everyone is convinced no fornication has taken place. A story, accepted by millions of people as 'gospel', that has influenced history. The second baby is called Jesus. His mother and adoptive father have been hearing voices and seeing visions. Soothsayers are prophesying a saviour for an oppressed populace, and three astrologers give weight to the sentiments and pronounce Jesus a Saviour. The enjoyment of the film rests largely on having subscribed to the beliefs in advance. As a story on its own merits, it is a flop. The most exciting action is when a snake spooks Joseph's donkey during a river crossing and Mary falls off and gets wet. But for the faithful there is over a hundred minutes of soothing music (including Gregorian chants and heavenly choirs) and a story everyone knows off by heart already - no big surprises there. Released to coincide with seasonal spending sprees, it will help to float modern day Herods' coffers. It is a sermon that will encourage the warm fuzzies of spending and a brief period of goodwill to anyone who is on message. Filmed in Morocco and Italy, it opens with prophecy from Jeremiah: "And Israel will dwell securely." Not securely enough for the film crew perhaps? Or was Morocco just cheaper? True, 'speaking peace unto the heathens' goes on today, often backed up with military might (Or, as the Democrats might say, "When Clinton lied, nobody died.") However, the religious in the audience seemed to be in a happy daze afterwards (it took longer than usual to get to the exits). It is almost like a genre in itself, where fans will accept anything with a donkey. The Nativity Story has reasonable production values taken in that spirit and my only misgiving is the 'PG' certificate which will allow minors to be further brainwashed. Speaking of which, remember to put your mince pies out for Santa.

I had a completely different reaction to this film than a previous reviewer who thought it lacked impact and was bland. I was drawn into it from the beginning and left surprised at how strongly it affected me. I felt that the Director was trying to not only "tell the story" that so many of us know and take for granted, but was trying to convey it as it probably was, especially culturally and emotionally. As a viewer familiar with both the standard story and the historical and theological debates and sticking points, what really mattered to me is exactly what Catherine Hardwicke, the director, apparently favored - Herod's obsession with not losing his power (he had to be obsessed in order to order babies murdered) and how that obsession caused him to completely miss the entire point. He was not wise. The Magi gave him the answer concerning the prophecy that he feared and, in doing so, realized by his hypocritical reaction that he feared the prophecy. Hardwicke also gave us, I believe, a strong Mary. But, she reminded us that Mary was YOUNG. She also did not present a romanticized view of Mary's and Joseph's betrothal, but what is probably a more realistic one. Theirs was an arranged marriage. Joseph could have accused Mary of adultery and she may have been stoned. I thought that both Mary and Joseph were well cast. What young girl wouldn't have been confused and perhaps resentful of her arranged marriage when she still wanted to play and have fun? Yet, she grew throughout the film to love her child, her husband, and humankind. ("He is for all of mankind.") I also appreciated the reminders of what reality must have been like for Joseph. A beautiful young couple to watch together and the baby chosen for Jesus was stunning. Loved the story, loved the film. Extremely worthy effort. It will go in my permanent collection.

Of course, audiences will be split in their reactions to THE NATIVITY STORY: some will value it for its religious values, and the remainder will try to appreciate it as drama. For the former, it's probably critic-proof, especially considering the relative paucity of Christian religious films; for the latter, the story may seem weighty under its relative familiarity. Of course, it's not as determinedly heavy as Mel Gibson's foray, and maybe the most appealing aspect of NATIVITY is that its subject matter is basically uplifting - and much more watchable. Pasolini's elegant GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW still rates as the gold standard. It tells its story naturally and without pretense; it's as if this was the way it really happened. THE NATIVITY STORY falls a bit short of Pasolini; despite some well-rendered special effects, it doesn't seem to trust its subject matter sufficiently to let it survive on its own merits. That's a tricky thing to manage. As presented here, the story is essentially drama, but often conveyed as fact, and not all the actors are up to the challenge. Managing tone is equally challenging. THE NATIVITY STORY (and many films of its ilk) proceed from the notion that things like humor didn't exist two millennia ago. The inclusion of human responses can enrich a film like this and make it memorable. The same applies to some of the performances, in partcilar Keisha Castle-Hughes (WHALE RIDER) as Mary, whose responses to the wonders of virgin childbirth seem rather lifeliess. As a result, THE NATIVITY STORY can't help but feel a bit stiff, and that's really unfortunate. But a film like this really only has to be "good enough" (at least that seems to be the director's view), and anyone waiting for unique reflections on the story have going to have a long wait. If a subject is rather extraordinary, it yearns for an extraordinary treatment. But there will be other nativity stories (I've seen one in Cantonese), and maybe it will come out before the second coming.

Mel Gibsons The Passion Of The Christ(2004), which focused on the death of Jesus Christ. The Nativity Story focuses on the birth of Christ. It starts with Mary marrying Joseph so young, being visited by the angel Gabriel, and is told she will give birth to a savior. Joseph accepts it, while other people won't. They start off on a long journey, Joesph protecting Mary from anybody that is suspicious, and hoping to evade the evil king Herold, who is bent on destroying the savior. And The Three Kings are there way too. One great film, if you loved The Passion Of The Christ, then you'll The Navity Story it really gives you reason to celebrate.

Although the Nativity seems like it happened a long time ago, 2000 years is only one sixth of recorded history, and one fiftieth of the time that homo sapiens has existed. The physical features of Palestine, Isreal, and Egypt are for all intents and purpose identical to what they are now. The people, while shorter and thinner, are indistinguishable from ourselves. Although there is certainly differences of opinion as to all religious elements of Christianity as it relates to Christ, Mary, and Joseph, it is somewhat well established that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph did exist, as did King Herod, the astrological phenomenon of the Star, the census, etc. In that light, "The Nativity Story" is a reverend and authentic attempt to successfully convey the words, actions, and general physical and political environment of that time. It is also an attempt to convey the physical hardships of the time, the economy of thought and word, the limited aspirations of people 2000 years ago, and the simple faith that has a good deal to do with the success of Western culture to this day. The acting is totally appropriate, while many have commented that Keisha Castle Hughes is emotionless, and Joseph simple of thought and action, it reflects the attitude of a world where 50% of children died, and an above average life was to be married at 14 and dead at 40. The supporting actors are totally believable, even the wise men who offer limited comic relief are appropriately reverend and humble. The scenery and cinematography are magnificent. All in all a must see for everyone old enough to understand the story- probably 8 and up. With the materialistic, sarcastic garbage out there about Christmas light wars, drunken Santas, etc this is an ideal way for a whole family to spend a night at Christmas and reflect afterwords as to what they saw.

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.

The Nativity Story: Don't miss it - its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses. Here's my 17 year-old daughter's review hot from a 23rd November 2006 London preview, so this is a typical teenage take on the new release. "The film has a realistic spin", she told me shortly after exiting the theatre, "but toward the end it got so overdone; like the old Christmas films with a star shining through a hole in the roof of the stable scenario. The wise men appear right there in the stable, on the same night Jesus was born, and lo and behold, there were three of them!" (Contrary to popular myth, the Bible never does mention the number of wise men.) "The film was well paced at the beginning," she agreed, "but toward the end, it seemed rushed, like they had to finish off the 100 minutes of screen time." This may reflect the tight production schedule – how many movies make it from a blank piece of paper to world-wide theatrical release in 12 months? An amazing accomplishment by any standard. Asked about the humour angle, my daughter thinks that it "..could have done with a little humour; yes, the wise men did add some comedy flavour, but it wasn't that funny". Also, she didn't like the name, the title reminding her of "...every single nativity film you're ever likely to see." For me, however, the title is simple and straight-forward - just like the movie, which she rates at around 7/10. The IMDb rating linked to this piece reflects my own unashamedly generous rating (especially in light of the clear anti-Christian bias evident in some reviews of this production). Interesting that I had to remind my daughter who Keisha Castle-Hughes is, (both these beautiful young women are around the same age as it happens), but she made the connection in the end, and thinks Keisha turned in a quite tidy, understated performance. For me, although the film does show evidence of being rushed through production, (especially the final act), I do take my hat off to Mike Rich, for turning out that screenplay in one month, start to finish, and to Catherine Hardwicke for actually getting this to the screen for Christmas 2006. Regardless of how she rates the finished screen-time, at least my daughter got to see "The Nativity Story" several days earlier than Pope Benedict XVI and a theatre full of cardinals for its Vatican world premier. (Note: the pope was in Turkey at the time, so didn't actually see it at all!) My take on the film is that it brings us back to the time when one could openly be thankful for that quite amazing birth so long ago, and not have to make apologies to be politically correct. Whether one believes or not, certainly a history-changing event. I do hope that this rendition on the big screen does well at the box-office. It deserves to, because despite the title, and while it stays rooted to the ancient religious drama genre, it simply isn't like any other nativity film you're ever likely to see!

A nice visualization of the journey to Bethlehem. They did an excellent job with the character of Joseph. Unfortunately, it was not the case regarding the portrayal of Mary. Their attempt to capture her humility came off as self abasement and disdain. There was almost no transcendent joy in her character which is is probably because they overlook the chronology of the Luke's Gospel account in which Mary visits Elizabeth and exclaims: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him. He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever." Why would they put most lengthly dialog of Mary in Scripture at the end of the movie? Almost as an after thought rather than a tone which could have set the rest of the movie. It seemed the writer and director did not know what make of Mary, which resulted in the film being "okay" rather than fantastic.