Leofwine_draca Having recently seen and watched the BBC 2010 adaptation of THE NATIVITY, I was eager to find out how this Hollywood production value compared. It turns out to be even better, thanks to exceptional production values and a real resonance in terms of storytelling that brings both the era and the characters to life.The filmmakers don't go so far as to have the characters speaking in their original languages like Mel Gibson did for PASSION OF THE Christ, but everything else looks and feels great, particularly Oscar Isaac's and Keisha Castle-Hughes's very human Joseph and Mary. The backdrops and scenery are both lavish, with delicately-balanced humour and support from acting heavyweights like Ciaran Hinds.Altogether it's a touching, moving viewing experience and one that should appeal to Christian viewers everywhere, refreshingly free of the interplanetary nonsense that marred the BBC version (where I kept expecting Professor Brian Cox to pop up and explain the science behind the alignments of the planets or some such).

ma-cortes This is a fine portrayal based on early existence of Mary (Keisha Castle Hughes), and Joseph(Oscar Isaac). A story well known and sacred that starts when birth of Jesus is announced to Mary by Angel Gabriel (Alexander Siddig). Meanwhile is also announced future birth of John the Baptist from the old couple Elizabeth (Shoreh) and Zechariah (Townsend). Mary learns from the angel Gabriel that she will conceive and bear a child called Jesus. When she asks how this can be, since she is a virgin, he tells her that the Holy Spirit would "come upon her" and that "nothing will be impossible with God". She responds: "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word".At the beginning Joseph is suspicious when Mary announces the blessed news but later is informed by an Angel.At the time that Mary is due to give birth, she and her husband Joseph travel from their home in Nazareth about 150 kilometres (90 miles) south to Joseph's ancestral home in Bethlehem to register in the census ordered by Herodes the Great (Ciaran Hinds). Meanwhile three Magician Kings Melchior(Nadim), Gaspar (Kalipha) and Bathasar (Eriq) are looking for Jesus, Son of God. Having found no place for themselves in the inn, Joseph and Mary meet a man who gives the couple a place in his stable. Mary gives birth to Jesus she places the newborn in a manger .Meantime an angel of the Lord visits the shepherds guarding their flocks in nearby fields and brings them "good news of great joy": "to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord." The angel tells them they will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger. The angel is joined by a "heavenly host" who say "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!".The shepherds hurry to the manger in Bethlehem where they find Jesus with Mary and Joseph. They repeat what they have been told by the angel, and then return to their flocks.This agreeable film focuses the Nativity story in a realist style but also accompanied with beautiful images, as there are shafts of lights, wonderful clouds and extraordinary landscapes. It packs marvelous cinematography by Elliot Davis who reflects splendidly the ancient scenarios filmed at Italy and Morocco. Atmospheric and emotive musical score adding oriental sounds by Mychael Danna. The motion picture is well directed Catherine Hardwicke who formerly directed 'Thirteen' and 'Lords of Dogtown' and subsequently would achieved a lot of success with 'Twilight'.

mlhannah I had the pleasure of watching this movie for the first time last night on TNT.At first I thought it would be one of those average TV Jesus movies, but man was I wrong! It was the best Jesus movie I have ever seen, concerning His birth. Unlike other movies it showed how it went down before Mary gave birth and how her and Joseph got married. The young woman and man who played Mary and Joseph were extraordinary and played their parts amazingly. Most people don't think about how big of a deal it is for a girl in that time to have a baby at such a young age (ppl. believe Mary was 16! my age!)out of wedlock, and how much of a shock it was to Joseph when A. he sees Mary pregnant, yet they had not been together, and B. when he finds out it really is the Son of God. This movie is excellent in portraying those critical moments that most don't think about. It was the most accurate well played version of the remarkable story of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ's birth, and I recommend it to all people. God Bless the actors and everybody who took part in producing this movie.

tastyhotdogs "The Nativity Story" is, surprisingly, the story of the birth of Jesus. Normally when you think a Christian film, you think bad acting, cheap sets and average directing. This was refreshingly different. The cast did well with what they had, except maybe the Three Wise Men, generally the sets were good and the directing was solid. The main thing separating this and the many previous versions of this classic story was that the cast was generally Middle Eastern (except the Kiwi playing Mary) and the movie had a much more authentic feel about it.It was obviously not as ground breaking as "The Passion Of The Christ", but this movie did cast a new light on several of the events surrounding Jesus' birth and therefore gave a new perspective eg the engagement of Joseph and Mary and the turmoil the pregnancy would have caused, the revelations given and most of all to me, the awesomeness of Jesus coming to earth in the form of a baby.Not a Hollywood Blockbuster, but not too bad at all.