Deeanne Gist - www.deeannegist.com - Inspirational Romance Author

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

The Nativity Story

Greg and I went to see The Nativity Story last night. If you're familiar with the story, it's easy to follow and a feel-good movie. If you aren't familiar with the story, it might be a bit confusing at times.

The movie opens with Zechariah going into the temple to burn incense and receiving the news from a "voice" that his wife will bear him a son. Then, they flash over to Nazareth and Mary. Those who aren't familiar with the story might have assumed Zechariah was Joseph and get hopelessly lost in those first few scenes.

It all plays out, of course, but clearly the producers assumed their audience would be intimately familiar with the details (they'd know who Herod was and where he ruled and that he ordered all Jewish male offspring in Bethlehem under the age of two to be killed (although that didn't happen the night Christ was born, as the movie insinuates) etc.)--all of which is fine. The photography was wonderful and the sets and costumes authentic. The film focused on Mary and Joseph, emphasizing the hardships they faced by being appointed the unsuspecting parents of the Messiah.

It made me think for the first time that Jesus' hometown might have ostracized him for being conceived out of wedlock. Certainly, Mary and Joseph faced rejection and shunning from friends and relatives.

I cried and cried when Jesus was born and when the shepherds came to worship. When the wise men arrived at the stable with their gifts (which in reality didn't happen until much later--when Jesus was about 2 years old), it brought home to me how their offerings assured that Jesus' family would be taken care of economically.

All in all, I definitely thought it was worth the ticket price and that it would be a great movie to see as part of your Christmas celebration. Has anyone else seen it yet? What did you think?

posted by Deeanne at 10:05 AM

8 Comments:

Meg said...: Sounds good. I haven't seen it yet, but I want to. I've read several favorable reviews.
Sandy said...: We saw the movie as a family. The kids thought it was a little slow, and probably hard to follow like you said. I thought Joseph was a humble man and sacrificed a lot for his family. That really impacted me. I cried too!

A *MUST SEE* movie for the holidays!
Barb said...: It could be a serious challenge to make a realistic/accurate movie about some of the "stories" in the Bible. I'm reading Blue Like Jazz right now and he points out that some of the stories that are made to be so sweet in children's Bibles or story books had to have been pretty traumatic and ugly when they actually occurred. Stories like Noah's, for example, although there's always the hopeful God factor in each of 'em, including their real-life edition!
Sharlene MacLaren said...: Hubby and I went to see "Nativity" last weekend. Worth every cent. Loved the movie. So puts Christmas into perspective. In fact, I'll buy it and try to watch it every Christmas. Like you, Dee and Sandy, I cried when the precious little baby was born--but then I cry when I watch "The Baby Story" on the learning channel!

The only thing I'll say, and it's not really a negative about the movie, is that I didn't LOVE who they picked to portray Mary. She wore a perpetual frown, a glum expression throughout. I've always thought of Mary as more jubilant and full of joy. Yes, she was in awe of her deligation as Jesus' mother, and because of that responsibility, must have experienced moments of angst, but I see her as working through those times. The girl they used to play Mary rarely even gave us a smile.

BTW, is anyone familiar with author, Anne Rice? Vampire and other dark stories... She's returned to her Christian faith and vowed to dedicate all future books to the Lord and her newfound faith. Her latest is called Christ, Our Lord, and is about Jesus ministry from childhood through adulthood. She writes it in first person--from Jesus' perspective. Gutsy, huh? Anyone read it or heard about it? Just curious what your thoughts are about this book.

Blessings, everyone,
Shar
Barb said...: Maybe Mary was glum cuz the sand was so hot. I read that at one point they couldn't even get a donkey to walk across the sand, cuz it was so burning hot.
Heard about Anne Rice--very cool story!--but haven't read her book yet....
Sandy said...: Mmm, Shar, I thought the character of Mary was appropriate. Even tho there were joyous times for her, we can't take away the human element, the fact that when she first heard from the angel she was confused and disturbed.
She was young and scared and even though she had the Holy Spirit in her, I bet she couldn't believe what was happening to her. Afterall, she was human!
I'm not sure a joyful, jubilant Mary in this movie would have been believable. It would have just been too nice.
Sharlene MacLaren said...: Good point, Sandy.
Deeanne said...: Though I can see Mary might not have been jubliant, exactly, I, too, thought the actress was on the one-dimensional side. I think there was an opportunity to have Mary more fleshed-out than she was. (I still loved the movie, though.)

There's been lots of buzz about Anne Rice, but I've not read her book either.