The Nativity Story: Movie

What follows are my thoughts about The Nativity Story, which I recently saw. I have not immersed myself in enough films to write a very good review, but here are the thoughts that I went away from the theater with ... I hope they can be helpful to you, the reader.

First off, I thought The Nativity Story was very good, especially considering that you come into the theater knowing the essentials of the entire story-plot before you have even the film.
It didn't seem to get too slow or drag at points (although ... I thought New World was pretty fascinating, too, and I think most of the movie-going world violently disagrees with me there. Mind you, I was having a whole load of fun searching out all the details of John Smith's battle gear in the midst of the infamously over-extended 10-minute "New Age-ey" nature scenes. But I digress ...)

Acting was very good, believable. The characters talk in pronounced accents - Middle Eastern, I guess - which might take a few minutes to get used to, but after a few scenes you don't even notice it anymore. And it seems better than having Americans and British roaming Judea (ever notice how Julius Caesar always has a commanding baritone and impeccable British accent?).

I thought the producers did a great job with the story of Joseph and Mary. You get a glimpse into what life was really like at that time, not just the romantic pictures that we see 2000 years later. We see that Mary, as a young Jewish girl anywhere from 13-16 years old, was arranged to marry Joseph - she did not love him, and she was saddened and slightly afraid at the thought of becoming the wife of a man she barely knew. We see Joseph trying to win the affection of his wife-to-be, and then his anguish when he thinks his fiancee has been unfaithful to him. We see the danger and the social hatred that Mary had to face because of being pregnant and unmarried. We see the struggle that she had to face as she tried to convince her parents and Joseph of the truth. And we see their love for each other grow as they struggle together toward Bethlehem. Really, the Nativity Story is largely about Mary and Joseph.

I was very impressed with the movie's depiction of Herod "the Great." The actor seemed perfect for the role, bringing to the screen an almost exact depiction of what history says about the tyrant. You see behind his cold exterior he remembers the death of his father by the Romans, and his own expulsion from Jerusalem during a rebellion ... this is a man who loves power and has resolved to never lose it. He goes to ruthless lengths to do this; the movie refers to his killing his wife and 2 sons (he drowned them as they bathed), because he was paranoid that they plotted against him (and, in all fairness, they probably were - he was a nasty king, and most likely a nasty husband and father as well). We also see his love of extravagance - the people are heavily taxed, above their tax to Rome, to finance his building projects. One scene sees him in Masada, building his famous palace-fortress-resort, where he instructs men to build a marble and gold layered pool. All in all, you go away from the movie with an accurate idea of who Herod really was.

Umm ... not so with the wise men. The producers opted for the traditional view of three magi with their traditional names (given to them in the Middle Ages). It didn't take anything away from the movie at all ... but historically, it could have been even more interesting! The wise men (unspecified number) came from the region of Parthia, Rome's most hated (and only undefeated) enemy, who had come into Judea decades ago, captured Jerusalem, and exiled Herod. So suddenly when a caravan of magi (king-makers of Parthia) arrived, probably with a heavily armed escort, Herod would have been extremely uneasy, especially as they told of coming to see a new King. Unfortunately, the movie does not go into this backstory - probably wise for the sake of time, but ... I kind of missed it.
Anyways, moving on.

It was really nice to see a wide-screen panoramic of what ancient Jerusalem would have looked like!

Music was really nice. The movie opens with the Judean night sky and a haunting rendition of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" (one of my favorite hymns, by the way).

Well, I could go on longer, but it wouldn't be very helpful. Bottom line, I enjoyed the movie a lot, and I went away with a better idea of what it might have really been like for a Jewish carpenter and a young Jewish girl who were suddenly charged with parenting the millennia-expected Messiah, a prophet greater than Moses, a King greater than David.

Go see it!

If any of you have seen the movie and have any thoughts to add, I would be glad to hear what you thought about the film.

Andrew

Things I Love About Christmas ...

- Sitting in a warm dark room, watching snow falling outside, with a hot chocolate in one hand and a good comic book (Calvin & Hobbes, Sherman's Lagoon, Dilbert, Herman, Get Fuzzy, Zits, etc ...) in the other ... oh, and a purring cat on my lap.

- Macaroons, snowballs, shortbread, stuffing and gravy, truffles, and especially Mom's second-to-none chocolate chip cheesecake. Actually, Christmas food as a whole is something to look forward to all year ...

- Reflecting on the birth of Jesus - that the Son would put aside His rights as Creator and take on the nature of His created. On His humble coming.

- Getting to see everyone from each side of the family again!

- Having the excuse to sit and watch Charlie Brown and his "sad jazz" Christmas.

- Chinese food and "2001: Space Odyssey" at New Years (ok, not technically, Christmas ... but close!). This NYs, though, I'm thinking a back-to-back Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Any takers?

- Christmas charols, which generally tend to be my favorite hymns.

- Walking from the cold into a warm house that smells like apple cider

- Giving gifts

- Ok, fine, getting gifts, too ...

- Eggnog!

- Christmas lights and Christmas trees in a dark room at night ...

- The oh-so-welcome four week Christmas vacation (thank you, thank you, thank you, Dr. Haykin!!) ... oh the bliss of having nothing* to do! (*nothing being a relative term, of course)


[more to come!]