If you look through the movies I like you might find it an odd mix. Sci fi, super heroes, Kung Fu, lots of dark and weird things, and Bible stories. My top ten movies list includes a lot of things with Christian influence. So it’s not surprising that I was excited to see the birth of Christ realized on the big screen. What is more surprising is how thoroughly unimpressed I am with it.

If you remember your Biblical history you know that an angel appeared to Elizabeth and her husband pronouncing the coming of John the Baptist, the angel appeared to Mary announcing her virgin conception then to her fretting future husband to tell him Mary hadn’t been messing around on him, they journeyed to Bethlehem for the census, Jesus was born in a stable, angels sang for shepherds who came to bear witness to the birth, wise men journeyed bearing gifts, Herod fearing for his kingdom killed all the infants in his kingdom, and Joseph took his family to Egypt to escape the slaughter.

The Bible itself is more like a summary of these events than a narrative. To turn these events into a story fit for the screen some creative license has to be taken. There are a lot of Christians that disagree with such a thing. I myself see no problem with presenting these stories of faith in today’s most popular medium, the silver screen, as long as the spirit of the original story stays intact.

The Nativity Story does keep those high points I mentioned faithfully intact. Unfortunately the presentation of them is generally not inspiring, and the bridging material added to create a more cohesive narrative is often dull.

The writers attempt to create tension by opening with the slaughter of the babies then jumping back to the prophecy of John and working forward from there. That was probably the best move possible as there isn’t a whole heck of a lot of screen-friendly antagonism in the Christmas story.

To set up the murder the movie shows King Herod’s extreme taxes and ruthless rule. Rather than being effective, though, it feels forced. It then sets up the census as a way for Herod to weed out the so-called king he’s been hearing about in the prophecies floating around. Since they are looking for a man of power Mary being forced to have her labor in a stable serves to put them under the royal radar. This is actually an interesting approach although I’m pretty sure it’s inaccurate.

Another concept to create tension is with Mary not being happy about being betrothed to Joseph. There’s another man she wants. I guess this helps sow the seeds of doubt about her fidelity when she swears she isn’t pregnant by a human man (as if any help were needed). This isn’t done as well as it might have been and comes off feeling more like something used to extend the story than essential plot development.

I think the biggest problem I have with the early part of the story is that it focuses on the added tensions such as showing Mary flirting with the man she really wants and the dealings of the family and does nothing to establish any sort of spiritual side to her. We go from a normal life any woman might lead to talking to angels and conceiving the messiah. Maybe they were trying not to be too similar to One Night With the King (a movie that is everything Nativity Story is not, by the way)?

I think the lack of spiritual setup could have been overcome by an awe-inspiring angelic visit. I’m guessing lack of budget prevented this. Even if they purposefully wanted to remain subtle with the angelic visits the shepherds scene with the heavenly choir should have been the pinnacle of the movie visually. It’s more likely to put you to sleep than inspire you, though.

I did enjoy the sub-plot of the wise men. From their deducing the special birth to their journey to their dealings with Herod they were probably the most interesting part of the story from a cinematic perspective except for the evil king himself.

An aspect that doesn’t help the presentation is the weak acting. Joseph is pretty good, but Mary is decent at best. I wouldn’t go so far as to say anyone stinks out loud, but there isn’t really anyone that pulls me into the role. That sure doesn’t do much to help the already weak scenes.

CONTENT:
This is an extremely clean movie. The murder of babies is pretty tame in depiction but disturbing in concept. This is the only part sensitive viewers might need to be aware of.

DVD:
The DVD is nothing special. It offers Widescreen and pan & scan versions of the movie with 5.1 and 2.0 surround sound audio options. Extras amount to a couple of trailers, some previews for other movies, DVD credits, and some general web links.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
If you’re wanting a more Biblical than Santa Claus Christmas story I’m not sure there are a whole lot of options other than The Nativity Story. Then again the closest thing I own to a sweet, sentimental Christmas story is the ALF Christmas Special so I’m not exactly an authority there. Anyway, go ahead and check out Nativity Story if you can’t find anything else to fill your needs. If you do decide to go for it I suggest a rental over purchase. I'll give it 3* partially on the importance of the story it tells.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12