Film Review of
The Nativity Story
Director: Catherine Hardwicke (2006)
Distributor: Entertainment Film Distributors
Certificate: PG
Reviewed by Andrew Wooding
Spoiler notice: If you read on will become aware
of some of the content of the film.
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Main Characters:
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When I first heard about Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ,
a few
months before it was released, I assumed it was a vanity project, funded
with Mel Gibson's own money, that would play in a few selected cinemas then
disappear from sight within a week or two. Against everyone's expectations
it became one of the biggest blockbusters of the year, so it is not
surprising that Hollywood – sensing an opportunity - have decided
to jump on
the bandwagon with similar biblical epics. The first of these is The
Nativity Story, telling the story of the birth of Christ. A worthy look at
the true meaning of Christmas? Or a cynical attempt to cash in on the
success of The Passion of the Christ? It seems that a number of Hollywood
studios have been working on versions of the nativity, so this one was
rush-released to beat the rest.
Scriptwriter Mike Rich had a difficult task in taking on this story. The biblical accounts amount to the first two chapters in the gospels of Matthew and Luke - in total just a few hundred words, barely even the length of a short story. Somehow he has had to take these details and flesh them out into a full-length feature film.
The strength of his script is that, while this story culminates in the birth of Jesus, the bulk of the film focuses on the characters of Mary and Joseph, showing the implications of Mary’s pre-marriage pregnancy as well as the poor conditions they lived in under the tyrannical rule of King Herod and his heartless soldiers and tax collectors. Mary and Joseph are portrayed as ordinary, down-to-earth human beings doing their best in difficult circumstances. They are also obedient and faithful, despite the risk of persecution, when they hear from the Angel Gabriel (who is played by the doctor from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine!).
To me, the weakness is that I really couldn’t get involved in the characters – most
of them seemed to have exactly the same (ever-so serious) personality and spoke
in the same fake Middle Eastern accent, even if they were English
or American actors. They didn’t come to life for me, and none of them
had a
sense of humour. One reviewer has said that this film could have been so
much more, yet it merely feels like someone has filmed an advent calendar.
I
wouldn’t go quite as far as that, but he has a point. The astrologers/three
wise men are a different story - their scenes contain much banter which
is
obviously there to add comic relief, except their jokiness comes across as
unconvincing and forced, overcompensating for the lack of humour in the rest
of the film.
I get the feeling that the makers of this film were a little fearful of the source material and were scared to do anything too radical or gritty with the story in case they offended anyone. The Bible has no such qualms.
I am prepared to cut this film some slack, however, as people need to know
the true story behind Christmas, especially in these days of secularisation,
and I would recommend that everyone go and see it – and take a friend
or two
while they’re at it. The Nativity Story is competently made and definitely
made me think about real historical characters - like Mary and Joseph - and
what they had to go through. While not a classic, I am still tempted to buy
lots of copies of the DVD when it comes out and hand them out to people I
know. I can’t think of many other films I would do that with.
If only it had been helmed by a filmmaker with the imagination and daring of a Martin Scorsese or Peter Jackson (to name but two) ... or even Mel Gibson!
Through the lens of Christian Faith
Some key themes: God became flesh. He was born into this world as a baby in humble circumstances. Ordinary, down-to-earth people like you and me were chosen to play their part in this momentous, world-changing event.
"This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was engaged to marry Joseph, but before they married, she learned she was pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit. Because Mary's husband, Joseph, was a good man, he did not want to disgrace her in public, so he planned to divorce her secretly. While Joseph thought about these things, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, "Joseph, descendant of David, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the baby in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1 v 18-21).
I'm not going to rail against some of the more secular aspects of Christmas. I love them. The coloured lights, the presents, the traditional meal with all the trimmings, crackers containing terrible jokes and embarrassing hats, Doctor Who and the Queen's speech on telly. It's fun, and the last thing I want is to be a killjoy.
However, I do find it sad that in the interests of political correctness the "Christ" in Christmas seems increasingly to be forgotten about, with many of today's young people not knowing the true story of Christmas. Even the word Christmas has become an embarrassment, with many substituting it with words like Xmas, Season's Greetings, or Happy Holidays. With that in mind, any attempt to portray the story of Jesus' birth can only be a good thing. And what a story!
The God of the universe, the infinite creator of all things, chose to come to earth as a person. Not only that, he chose to be born to poor parents who squatted in a barn with farm animals because they couldn't find anywhere else to stay. Those parents, who raised him, were ordinary, humble down-to-earth people. And the baby grew up to be a man who was on the side of the poor, the downtrodden, the meek.
Mary and Joseph were ordinary people, yet they were also extraordinary because they heard from God and were obedient and faithful, even in times of great difficulty. There are so many lessons that can be learnt from the nativity story – after all, it is part of what has been called the greatest story ever told. But the thing that strikes me most after watching this film is that God still uses ordinary people like you and me to bring the gift of his son into this world.
It won’t always be easy – at times it may be downright scary. But will you follow the example of Mary and Joseph and be obedient to God, no matter what the cost?
Discussion questions . . .
- Which biblical story would you like next to be turned into a film?
- What do you suggest people do to celebrate Christ’s birth this Christmas? Go to a church service? Take part in carol singing? Go to see The Nativity Story? Something else?
- Why do you think the Son of God chose to be born into a poor family? Couldn’t he have achieved a lot more if he had been rich, or had power and influence through being the son of a king?
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