Review: The Nativity Story

I know, I know, I was supposed to review Grace Johnson’s story Prisoner at Heart today. But I have some Christmas movies written down to be reviewed, and it’ll be weird to review them in February. 😛 So, today you’ll get a review of one of my favorite Christmas movies of all time: The Nativity Story.

So! Grab a blanket and the nearest warm fuzzy creature and settle in for a review! 🙂

The Nativity Story by Temple Hill Productions

(As a warning, there might maybe be spoilers in here. So beware. I’ll make sure the spoilers are alerted, but just sayin’.😉)

If you’re like most folks, you don’t really think about Jesus at Christmas time. Christmas is for sugar cookies and family and presents and that wonderful bubbly feeling you get in the pit of your stomach, not God. If you’re a Christian, you probably hear about Jesus more than anything else at Christmas time. You have those nativity sets with a perfect Mary and Joseph praying over a shining baby Jesus in the manger, a few curly-haired sheep grinning at the kid, and three wise men in elaborate robes standing nearby.

Yeah, no.

I don’t think the Christmas story happened that way. I think it was hard, it was dirty, it was gritty, and I don’t know if the wise men were actually at the manger – a lot of people say that they believe the magi showed up nearly a year after Jesus’ birth! I doubt Mary and Joseph were still in a stable by then. 😉

Whatever the case, this movie does an excellent job of portraying the nativity – both the good and the bad, the glorious and the shameful, the sweetness and the terror. I highly recommend it, so if you’re looking for a Christmas movie, check this one out!! :)

Content

Pros:

1. Language–none that I caught! This was a very clean movie in that respect. Even the Roman soldiers didn’t curse or use God’s name in vain. *applauds the producers*

2. Religion–as a movie centered around the Son of God, you’d expect some religion in there, especially some stuff labeled “Christian”. And the movie didn’t disappoint – Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, Zachariah, Mary’s parents – all of them pray and recite Biblical passages, not to mention talking about God. Angels from “the Most High God” appear to various characters and tell them of things to happen in the future (mostly births). God is highly involved, and in a very touching, very real way. 🙂

Cons:

1. Violence–Biblical times were not pretty ones, y’all. The Roman soldiers were brutal and merciless. We see blood and death, and other nasty things are alluded to as well. (SPOILER ALERT!!) One of the earliest scenes portrays Roman soldiers flooding into Bethlehem, tearing babies and toddlers from their mothers’ arms, and stabbing or beheading them before leaving. This whole scene is only illuminated by torchlight, so we don’t really see anything gory, but you can get the idea, and it isn’t a pretty one. (SPOILER END!!) We also get a glimpse of Roman punishment – two men tied to trees who were obviously beaten to death and left by the side of the road as examples. There’s blood and wounds. One thing to remember, though, is that this did happen. Babies were killed. Blood did abound. It was quite possible, even probable, that Mary faced execution for being pregnant. I don’t think it’s wrong for the producers to put this in here, but I do think it would be advised to be discerning with the people you let watch this.

2. Sexual–the whole nativity story revolves around an unmarried girl getting pregnant in a time where that is punishable by death. So there’s obviously going to be some sexual stuff in here. It’s gentle and subtle, but it’s there. Let me explain in further detail.

3. Fornication–an unmarried girl gets pregnant, even though she claims to still hold to her virginity (her purity or chastity). Her parents are understandably angry, as is her betrothed. In Biblical times, once you were betrothed, you were supposed to behave as a married couple “except in that which leads to family”, as Mary’s dad says. So (SPOILER ALERT!!) when Mary gets pregnant after a visit she took without her parents to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, and Joseph makes it quite clear that her baby is not his own, she faces death. (SPOILER END!!) Can you imagine her courage? She probably wasn’t much older than sixteen – probably younger, even. To face death, pregnancy, shame, and scorn at that age is pretty much unthinkable. She brings shame upon her family, even though she sticks to her story that an angel told her she would bear the Son of God.

4. Romans–during the confrontation between Mary and her parents, her mother asks if it was a soldier - if a soldier is the father of her child. Mary clings to the truth and claims again that her baby is the Son of God (can you imagine how crazy she must have sounded!?!). The allusion is subtle, but there and realistic.

5. Birth–there are two scenes in which women give birth. Nothing is really shown, but it’s clear that Biblical labors were not pretty ones. *winces*

6. Circumcision–we do see the circumcision of a baby boy. (See Genesis 17:9-14 if you don’t know what that is.) Some older boys who are watching wince and turn away pretty quickly.

7. Magic/witchcraft–although this isn’t super obvious, there is some fortune-telling and astrology in here. The magi, Gentiles probably from Babylon, use the stars to decide when the Messiah will be born. The story cleverly uses a star that signifies peace and a star that signifies something else I can’t remember crossing the paths of a new star to create the one great star with its brilliant light. This is what guides the magi to Jesus. Along with that, while Mary and Joseph are passing through Jerusalem on their way to Bethlehem, a fortune-teller stops them and offers some free food for Mary, which she eats. The teller then looks at Mary’s hand and tells her that she’ll have a son. Then she turns to Joseph and says that there’s no greater joy than to see one’s own face in one’s child. Joseph’s face falls. After all, this isn’t his child.

Messages

Note: the messages I got out of here were few but important. I don’t believe the goal for this movie was to teach others moral truths – I think it was more to accurately portray the nativity story and let others glean historical truths from that. So my list is quite scanty.

Pros:

1. One of the angel Gabriel’s most striking lines (besides “Do not be afraid” XD) is “…nothing said by God can be impossible”. This is true – God is an all-powerful, all-knowing God who is in all places at all times. Can anything be impossible for him? Throughout the rest of the film we see this portrayed time after time: miraculous conceptions and births, angelic appearances, miraculously funny lines, the list goes on. 😉

2. Another thing is trusting in God. This kinda ties into the whole “nothing is impossible with God” theme, but in all honesty, they are different. You can believe with all your heart that God is all-powerful, but it takes real strength to trust him when things seem out of control – like with Mary, when she got pregnant before marriage and threat of execution hung over her head. She stuck to the truth no matter the cost, trusting God to bring her through.

Cons:

1. None that I found! Great job, Nativity Story!

Morals

Pros:

1. Gentleness–the message flung at both men and women these days is to be strong. Stand up for what you believe. Win those fights, defy those forces you don’t agree with. Be heroic. But in all seriousness, God calls us to other things. Yes, he wants us to stand by our faith – but with swords? With harsh, biting words or defiance? No - through humility, love, and kindness. Both Joseph and Mary are kind and gentle, though Joseph shows his gentle side more. I think that this is something we all could look up to, and most of us could work on: being gentle.

2. Quietness–along those lines, Mary has her own kind of gentleness. Ok, ok, being “quiet” isn’t necessarily a character trait. But the apostle Peter says in the Bible for women to adorn their “hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” Yeah, not at all what we hear from our culture. Women are expected to be strong and speak their minds. Characters who are sarcastic and defiant are looked up to. (Don’t get me wrong – sarcasm is great ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE *cough cough*, but it can be used disrespectfully and in a harmful way.) But the Mary of The Nativity Story is none of these things. She is quiet in the literal sense: rarely speaking, especially when it comes with things she disagrees on with her parents (her betrothal to Joseph, for example). She waits until a time when she can discuss these things respectfully and openly. As a person who struggles a lot with having a “quiet and gentle spirit”, I admire Mary a lot for this virtue.

3. Obedience–despite the risk of getting pregnant while unmarried in her time, Mary responds to the message that she has been chosen as Jesus’ mom with this well-known line: “Let it be done to me according to your word.” Now that is obedience, and trust. But even apart from obeying God, Mary also obeys and respects her parents. She doesn’t want to get married and doesn’t know Joseph very well, so her betrothal is not something she looks at with joy. She submits herself to her father’s will, though, without complaint.

4. Humility–both Mary and Joseph are quite humble. They speak to others without sign of arrogance, even when Mary could totally be bragging about how God chose her to carry his son. I also struggle with humility, so this is another thing I admire in both of them.

5. Honesty–Mary doesn’t shy from the truth. Even when her parents are fuming at her once she returns (obviously pregnant) from Elizabeth’s house and keep trying to get her to confess what she’s done or who the father is, she sticks to her word. “I have told the truth,” she tells them. “Whether you believe or not is your choice, not mine.” She refuses to lie, and in that situation, that takes courage as well.

6. Mercy–in case you know nothing about Biblical times, women were killed for getting pregnant by a man who was not their husband. But for that to happen, the husband or betrothed would have to press charges. If the woman was not married or betrothed, I think it was the father’s choice, but I don’t know that for sure. Whatever the case, Joseph held Mary’s life in his hands. He could execute justice and have her stoned for this wrong he perceives, or he could take the child as his own and face the shame of it alongside her. He chooses the later after a vision involving the angel Gabriel, who tells him that Mary is telling the truth. What is more is that he continues with the marriage plans instead of divorcing her! Mercy seems to be a big part of his character, another thing I appreciate.

7. Sacrifice–as Mary and Joseph head to Bethlehem, we see Joseph sacrifice for Mary multiple times. He gives the donkey she rides food instead of eating himself, for fear of their animal stumbling on a cliff-side as he had seen another’s do. We are shown a scene where Mary cleans his broken, bleeding feet as she tells Jesus that Joseph will be a good and decent man to raise him; “one who will give of himself before anyone else”.

Cons:

1. Doubting–perfect characters don’t bug me. It’s when every single character in a story is perfect that it begins to catch my attention. I was just beginning to think this about The Nativity Story before we reach a scene where Joseph begins to doubt – doubt if he’s doing the right thing, despite the angel’s words; doubt if the child in Mary’s womb is truly the Son of God; all sorts of things. And this only made me appreciate his character more. 🙂

Wrap Up

If you’re looking for a good, well-made, intriguing and not especially cheesy Christmas movie that has the spotlight on Jesus instead of Santa Claus, this is the film for you. Not only is the plot exciting and the characters amazing, but the acting is pretty good and the soundtrack is just… *chef’s kiss* It truly is one of my favorite Christmas movies, so go check it out! Or at least watch the trailer. 😛

Take courage, pursue God, and smile while you still have teeth. 😉

-Joelle

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