It was the cruelest of times. Under Herod's torturous reign, families struggled to survive and yet, in the midst of utter turmoil, a young woman's faith is put to the test. Join Mary (Keisha Castle-Hughes) and Joseph (Oscar Isaac) on an incredible journey of hope and discovery. Epic in its scope, yet intimate in it's portrayal of this historical family, this "wonderful film" (Bill Zwecker, Chicago Sun Times) is "a family feature that will be cherished for years to come!" (Greg Russell, WMYD-TV, Detroit).
The Nativity Story is a remarkable, if frustratingly restrained, act of imagining the tale of Christ's birth as a flesh-and-blood drama actually set in Israel two millenia ago. Written by Mike Rich (Finding Forrester) and directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen), the film makes very strong impressions in a scene-by-scene way. Beginning with the slaughter (bloodlessly portrayed; this is a PG movie) of Bethlehem's innocents under orders from a paranoid King Herod (a dark and knowing Ciarán Hinds), the film then jumps back a year to the prophecy that informs Zechariah (Stanley Townsend) that his wife, Elizabeth (Shohreh Aghdashloo), will bear a child. Meanwhile, Elizabeth's cousin, the adolescent Mary (Keisha Castle-Hughes), struggles with her family to make ends meet and is promised to the carpenter Joseph (Oscar Isaac). Soon comes word to Mary, via an angel, that she will carry, while still a virgin, the long-awaited Messiah who will liberate the Jews from Herod and his Roman benefactors. Thus begins a detailed account of Joseph and Mary's hard travel to Bethlehem, while three Magi spend months crossing the desert trying to rendezvous with some point below the convergence of three heavenly bodies in the night sky. Hardwicke and Rich anchor all this in period detail, though what proves most moving are relationship nuances, especially the friendship and trust that emerge between Mary and Joseph after he is told in a dream that she speaks truthfully about her miraculous pregnancy. While The Nativity Story should appeal to almost anyone as a straightforward narrative, it is far from a secular version of the familiar Biblical tale, and thus feels a bit stifled. It might have been nice if the film could have breathed a little more with imagination, but The Nativity Story makes up for it by ingeniously weaving hints of things to come, later in Christ's life, into the action. --Tom Keogh
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Great Film:
The Nativity Story (2006) is a great movie that begins with the slaughter of Bethlehem's first born under orders from King Herod. The movie takes you to Mary's house where she is met by an angle proclaiming that she will be the mother of the Messiah. Joseph and Mary's journey begins.It's a great story of hope.
If you would like to read a great book that will being you hope read "The Enlightenment, What God Told Me After One Million Prayers: A Message for Everyone," by John H. Eagan. In this day and... more info
The real story:
This is a really good movie that shows the birth of Jesus without the Hollywood-style story changing that was so common in a lot of movies when I was growing up. If you are Christian, this is a must watch every Christmas.
Great Movie:
The Nativity Story (2006) is a great movie that begins with the slaughter of Bethlehem's first born under orders from King Herod. The movie takes you to Mary's house where she is met by an angle proclaiming that she will be the mother of the Messiah. Joseph and Mary's journey begins.
If you're so inclined, I found this beautiful new book about Jesus, faith, God and what we will do in the after-life entitled "The Enlightenment, What God Told Me After One Million Prayers: A Message for Everyone," by... more info
well done:
The movie, although not precise in it's depiction (e.g. depicts the Wise Men at the stable), certainly gives one a better appreciation of how difficult it must have been to make the journey to Bethlehem, as well as the reality of being unwed and pregnant. I think this is an excellent movie to watch and review with both Christians and non-Christian. It makes the Christmas story more than simply a story. It is a fact (albiet the movie takes a degree of poetic license...these equivocal portions do not detract... more info
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