Movie review: The Nativity Story
Topic: God things
Charles and I found ourselves with no kids this afternoon, so we went to the movies. It was opening day for The Nativity Story, so we bought our tickets an hour and a half early, then went to lunch while we waited. We got back to the theater 20 minutes early to get good seats. (I like to sit in the front row of the second section, where there is a railing in front of you instead of a tall man's bobbing head.) There was only one other man in the entire theater and by the time the previews began, only 5 more had come in! I couldn't believe it didn't get more of an audience on it's first day...but it was only 1:30 in the afternoon, so I'm hoping that was the only reason.

The movie begins right away...no opening credits....with a view of the cloudy, heavenly looking sky. In front of the clouds, come the written words giving the setting of the movie. The Roman empire has taken over Israel and is oppressing the people. All the while they are waiting for their Messiah to come and deliver them. The only sound is the song O Come O Come Emmanuel being sung in Latin (I think?) This is one of my husband's favorite Christmas songs.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Most of the story is set before the birth of Jesus. It is a story about Mary and Joseph, and it is a beautiful story, very Biblical and yet very creative and thoughtful. There is much strife in the daily life of the Jews. The Roman soldiers are in a lot of scenes, giving the strong presence of oppression and hardship.

Within Mary, there are struggles. Keisha Castle-Hughes did an excellent portrayal of this young woman who was placed in a very difficult circumstance of being pregnant out of wedlock. (And I never thought of Whale Rider once, as I thought I would.) She knew it was from God and gained confidence with the confirmation of Elizabeth and of Joseph being assured by an angel. She was not portrayed as a starry eyed, mystical woman, but in a very real way, as a baffled young woman. She struggled with being between childhood and a woman, she was very unsure of Joseph's proposal and at first did not want to marry him, she was often disheveled looking and dirty, and when she began to be in labor on the way to Bethlehem, true panic and fear was evident in both Mary and Joseph.

Joseph was a complete surprise to me....a very pleasant surprise! He was a wonderful character. I read that the only thing they could glean from the Bible about Joseph was that he was a righteous man. So his strength of character was really played up and done in a way that was loving and self sacrificial, yet protective. He jokes to Mary as they head out of Nazareth on their journey to Bethlehem, under the judgemental glares of their friends and neighbors, "We will really be missed, eh?" Their growing in love is a beautiful part of the movie. I won't spoil it for you by giving the details. =)

UPDATE: E-mom, at Chrysalis has an interview up, with Oscar Isaac, the man who portrays Joseph! He did a great job and truly was my favorite character in the movie.

One of the most enjoyable things about the movie for Charles and I was the scenery and daily customs of Israel that moved naturally throughout the story line. We were able to go to Israel last year and were recognizing a lot of things in the movie. I loved the scenes in the olive groves, the journeying up into Jerusalem, with the Temple gleaming, majestic on the Temple mount. The sheep and shepherds around Bethlehem reminded me of a few years ago, when I heard a story about the hills around Bethlehem. They were famous for producing flawless lambs for the Temple for sacrifice at Passover. Jesus, the Lamb of God was born there too, with the hills of Jerusalem looming over. And it was the shepherds who God chose to first announce the news to. I am not sure of the authenticity of the information in that story, but the thought was definitely interesting!

There are a few violent scenes, but no violence is on camera. There are 2 dead men hung on trees along the road while Mary is going back to Nazareth. There is a quick scene of men dying on crosses, there is a scene of Roman soldiers pillaging homes to find baby boys to murder, and the cruelty of Roman soldiers is shown throughout.

The only thing I was disappointed about was that there was no scene after Jesus' birth when they went to the Temple to dedicate him...... no Simeon or Anna. The Magi scenes were delightful, sometimes humorous, and the gift giving scene was quite moving.

There is so much more to mention, but I will just say, go see the movie! It is not the solemn, predictable story you've seen a hundred times. It is fresh, intriguing and thoughtfully done, really delving into the characters of the story. And when the baby is born, the scene is so touching, I had big old tears running down my face.

I loved it! Go see it!