Review of The Nativity Story (2006) by Hoss R — 19 Sep 2007

First off I'd just like to say that this is an excellent movie to watch during the Christmas season. Any time, sure, but I wish I had gone to see this on Christmas Eve rather than the day after. It would have set the stage for celebrating the day quite nicely.

Of course, most are aware that Christ wasn't born in December, and there's certainly no snow in this film's depiction of first century Palestine. The Nativity Story is a straightforward account of the events surrounding Christ's birth, and this it mostly does very well.

The cinematography is flawless, the music is well done, and the actors are fine all across the board. Most of the story is accurate, and a few exchanges of dialog are taken right out of the Scriptural account (the meeting between Mary and Elizabth comes to mind).

Unfortunately the makers succumb to several instances that stand out as departures from the source material and occasionally anachronisms. Mary's dismay over her betrothal by her parents to a man she hardly knew would not come as a shock - that was the practice of the times.

Additionally, much of the subplot involving the wise men is in error. They did not appear at the manger, but much later at a house after the family had returned from Egypt. Also they were warned by an angel not to return to Herod, rather than merely deciding this on a whim.

Mary, out of all the characters, is a little reserved and wooden in her acting. With all this criticism, though, the movie's spirit soars above its limitations and provides a fairly fresh potrayal.

Joseph's character is handled very well, and the strength and power of the message to which this movie is testimony manages to shine through. It's a vastly imperfect but sincere movie worth seeing at Christmas.