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Movie Review: The Nativity Story
Divine Revelation
THE NATIVITY STORY
Quality:
Acceptability: 4
WARNING CODES:
Language: None
Violence: V
Sex: None
Nudity: None
RATING: G
RELEASE: December 1, 2006
STARRING: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar Isaac Guerrilla, Shohreh Aghdashloo,
Eriq Ebouaney, and Ciará® Hinds
DIRECTOR: Catherine Hardwicke
PRODUCERS: Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Tim Van Rellim
WRITER: Mike Rich
BASED ON: The Bible
DISTRIBUTOR: New Line Cinema
CONTENT: (CCC, BBB, V, A) Very strong Christian worldview with very
strong moral content; no foul language; light violence with very little blood
includes people beaten and whipped by Romans, people on crucifixes by the side
of the road, sanitized depictions of the slaughter of the innocents by King
Herod, crucifixion of rebels, pushing, and shoving, but nothing exploitive; no
sex but hugging, light kissing and two childbirths, nothing shown but very
intense; no nudity; passing a cup of wine; and, nothing else objectionable.
GENRE: Biblical Epic
INTENDED AUDIENCE: All ages
REVIEWER: Dr. Ted Baehr
THE NATIVITY STORY is one of those very rare movies that brings the Gospel alive
in a compelling, soul-stirring, entertaining, and inspiring manner that shatters
expectations. It is a sacred movie and a divine revelation in the best sense of
these words. It is a human story with depth and breadth and height and all the
right elements to capture the audience.
The movie opens by quoting Jeremiah 23:5-6: "'The days are coming,'" declares
the LORD, 'when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will
reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will
be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be
called: The LORD Our Righteousness.'" The rest of the movie references and
quotes Scripture throughout.
The intensely paranoid King Herod sends out the troops to kill all the innocents
in Bethlehem and stop the prophecy that there will be born a King of Kings and
Lord of Lords. Herod is intensely superstitious and played brilliantly. Thus,
this movie starts, as it should, with a bang. It then flashes back to a year
earlier in the town of Nazareth, showing a brief moment of tranquility in the
life of Mary and Joseph.
Suddenly, the Roman troops are upon the village demanding tribute for Caesar.
Mary's father loses part of his land and his donkey. Joseph the carpenter buys
the donkey back from a greedy soldier and gives it back to the father, asking
for Mary's hand in marriage. Mary protests a little, but she is betrothed and
must spend a year before they consummate the marriage.
Soon, an angel of God comes to Mary to tell her that she is with God's child,
born by the Holy Spirit. She goes to see her cousin Elizabeth, who in her older
age is also with child. (A previous scene shows Elizabeth's husband, the priest
Zechariah, entering the temple and being struck mute when he doubts the word of
the angel that Elizabeth had become pregnant.) When Mary returns to Nazareth,
it is clear that Mary is pregnant. Joseph is devastated but decides to continue
with the marriage after an angel appears to him in a dream. At the same time,
the magi in Babylon are preparing to follow a unique astrological sign, which
forms a brief new star that will lead them to the King of Kings and Lord of
Lords.
Meanwhile, Joseph and Mary have to journey to Bethlehem to register for the
Roman census, and the prophecies of God are fulfilled.
THE NATIVITY STORY has one of the best scripts ever for a biblical story. What
makes a movie compelling is a sense of jeopardy, and that sense of jeopardy is
present throughout this movie. The dialogue, the plot development, the turning
points are refreshingly dramatic, so good in fact that they will elicit tears at
certain points. THE NATIVITY STORY is compelling drama that carefully avoids
gruesome, graphic violence. Even the slaughtering of the ox at the temple does
not show the blade entering the animal, yet it causes the audience to wince.
Catherine Hardwicke's direction is superb. Joseph and Mary are very human, very
Jewish and very much in love. Each character has a terrific character arc.
Probably the best part of the movie is the costuming and the settings. Having
spent some time in Israel researching other movies, I can attest to the
authenticity of even the smallest details of life in Israel in the first
century.
The crucifixions, the agriculture, the ephods, everything is done
exquisitely. There is one moment where Mary has an attitude, but it is very
brief and natural. A later statement, however, declares that Mary is always
trustworthy, that she keeps her promises and therefore she is honored by God.
Her complexities add depth to her character and make the story of Mary and
Joseph more profound.
THE NATIVITY STORY is a nearly perfect movie. It should be a movie that every
Christian would want to see. It is certainly a movie that every Non-Christian
should see. It testifies in every way to Jesus the Messiah and is clearly and
consciously evangelistic.
Such statements that this baby is the "greatest King" and "God made flesh,"
that the gold is for the King of the world, that the frankincense is for the
greatest priest of all, and that the myrrh is to honor the sacrifice, and many,
many more pointedly proclaim the story of the Christ and the great news that
there is salvation in none other.
Please address your comments to:
Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne
Co-Chairman/Co-CEO
New Line Cinema
116 North Robertson Blvd.
Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Phone: (310) 854-5811
Fax: (310) 354-1824
Website: www.newline.com
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