Review of The Nativity Story (2006) by Tammye G — 04 Dec 2010

The Nativity Story was produced and directed by Catherine Hardwicke and released in 2006 staring Keisha Castle Hughes (Mary mother of Jesus), Oscar Isaac (Joseph husband of Mary) and Shohreh Aghdashloo (Elizabeth cousin of Mary). The Nativity Story is a story is such a well known story, many of us have read this story in the Bible, or heard it over story telling or acted out during a play especially around the Christmas season, or we've seen the nativity scene on display on our neighbor's lawn or on the lawn of a church. This film goes deeper than my imagination could've allowed. It displays fear, love, companionship, ridicule and determination to protect what's precious. Before I began to watch this film I had an idea what the film may portray. Sometimes during a film I place myself in the character position, I connected with Mary the mother of Jesus. With historical and biblical events and situations such as the birth of Jesus, over discussions we sometimes pay more attention to the divinity of it all, yet these are people of have feelings like pain, fear and uncertainties, this film did a excellent job portraying all this attributes that make us all human. Even though the events of this film happened thousands of years ago, I felt her sense of urgency to find a safe haven to give birth; I felt her fear when she returned home pregnant to her family and husband (Joseph). And I also connected with her faith in God, (that she knew all would be well and she would be protected). During this time period it was very common for a teenage girl to be pregnant and married, but her age couldn't be ignored she was still a child and yet her responsibilities were so great. A passage in Living Religions by Mary Pat Fisher relates to The Nativity Story and Mary whom I connected with during the film. Fisher says, "Symbolic role ascribed to Mary is that of the immaculate virgin. According to the gospels of Matthew and Luke, she conceived Jesus by heavenly intervention rather than human biology. Roman Catholicism asserts that at the Immaculate Conception, she herself was conceived without any of the "original sin" exhibited by the rest of humanity. Even in giving birth to Jesus, she remained a virgin." ( Living Religions) This passage stood out to me because during this time period Mary could've been killed, not only because she was pregnant with Jesus but because she was pregnant and wasn't married. Mary had a lot of explaining to do when she returned home, to her mother, soon to be husband and the town she living in. Her greatest supporter and companion during the journey to find a place of refuge was Joseph, he struggled with the situation (Mary's pregnancy), but later was visited by the angel which confirmed the Immaculate Conception. The Nativity Story is now one of my favorite films.

Fisher, Mary P. Living Religions. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2008. 356. Print.