Posted on 12/01/2006 12:08:50 AM PST by Mr. Silverback
It’s that time of year again: time to scrub the public square clean of any evidence of Christmas—from baby Jesus on town hall lawns to Christmas carols in school plays—in favor of winter-themed décor or Kwanzaa celebrations. Some folks in Hollywood didn’t get the memo.
New Line Cinema’s new movie, The Nativity Story, opening today, is the first explicitly Biblical film released by a major Hollywood studio in fifty years—the last two being Ben-Hur and The Ten Commandments. Yes, there have been many faith-related films lately: for example, The Passion of the Christ, One Night with the King, the Narnia tales, and Facing the Giants. But most of those films did not come from major mainstream studios. This one does.
The Nativity Story is a faithful retelling of Luke 1 and 2. Recently, producer Wyck Godfrey joined the “BreakPoint” staff in hosting an early screening of the movie. And as Catherina Hurlburt noted on BreakPoint’s blog, The Point, the movie took Mary, Joseph, and others out of the icons and portrayed them in the flesh, the dirt, and the tears of daily life. The Nativity Story reminds us of what director Catherine Hardwicke called “the humanity of the holiday.”
In the December issue of BreakPoint WorldView magazine—which, by the way, makes a great Christmas gift—Hardwicke shared with writer Steve Beard her thoughts when she first received the script: “This can’t be that interesting,” she said. “I have read this story a hundred times.”
Well, I’m sure we can all relate to that. We’ve seen the nativity replayed many times on church and school stages and in figurines in homes and front lawns. Hardwicke continues, “But then I started getting so intrigued with the way [screenwriter] Mike [Rich] had gotten right . . . inside the heart and soul of these characters.”
And that’s one thing that makes this film well worth seeing. The Nativity Story brings us back to the real people involved in that scene that we all know so well at the stable in Bethlehem. Contemplating the story, screenwriter Mike Rich said, “I felt a real responsibility. You remember the old saying, ‘What would Jesus do?’ For me it was more like, ‘What would Luke write?’” That’s a daunting task: to visually portray Scriptural words. And in doing so, as Steve Beard writes, “Rich employed what C. S. Lewis called the ‘baptized imagination,’ using speculation that is faithful to the spirit of orthodox Christianity.”
And so we see Mary’s vulnerability and resolute faith. Joseph’s conflicts over being betrothed to a pregnant girl whom he had not yet been with. Herod is shown in all his paranoid rantings about losing his throne to some mysterious new king.
As I said, this is the first explicitly Biblical film in fifty years from a major Hollywood studio. If you don’t want to wait another fifty years, then take your family, friends, and neighbors to see this film. Then invite them over for dessert to talk about it afterwards. Revisiting Bethlehem in this way will remind us, as director Hardwicke says, of the “overwhelming notion that God chose this manner of sending His Son. . . . God did not go to a king. He did not go to a palace. He went to humanity.” And this you can see in, of all places, your local theaters.
There are links to further information at the source document.
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BreakPoint/Chuck Colson Ping!
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Sounds promising!
Signed ...... Donald Segretti
;-)
I hope it plays over here! I'd like to see this one this Christmas season!
26% Freshness rating. The Lib reviewers surely don't like it.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/nativity_story/
Thanks to a promotion on our local Christian radio station we saw the film last night. It is very good - the actors are what you would picture ... and the story is told like you would expect.
There is a little humor with the 3 Kings... they're quite the characters... (which they would have had to have been when you think about it - to follow a star ... ;-) )
We enjoyed it immensely and it certainly put us in the Christmas spirit!
I digress. I'm really excited to see this movie and can't wait til it comes out!
I'm taking my mother to see it tomorrow, and I hope Christians across this country see it this weekend to impress Hollywood with the turnout.
how can one have a story about christmas with so many jews in it...
only in hollywood...
teeman
merry christmas to all... and yes, the above is sarcastic... i tell people i am jewish, just one messiah up on the rest.
I saw a private screening thursday night and it was very good. There were very touching moments between the chracters of Mary and Joseph. You might say Joseph was a mans man! As a Catholic I have always had a love for Saint Joseph and the movie made me realize how great his responsiablity was to care for Mary and Jesus. The trip to Bethlehem made me think just how hard life was then. Anyway see the movie and tell others about it.
Let's roll!
Bought the Nativity CD this past Wednesday -- beautiful music!!!! Highly Recommended!
Saw it Saturday with my family. We enjoyed it very much. At first I poked a little fun at it, because there are a few opportunities to do so, but towards the end of the movie a holy hush fell across the theater as the miracle of the moment came through.
They did a nice job of showing how people lived back then, with great care given to little details like the tools they used, the economy they had, etc. I never envisioned the 3 wise men as wanna be comedians, but I was able to look past that.
Catholics may have a hard time with Mary being portrayed as a young lady who had typical emotions/frustrations with her family. I was disappointed that they left out her magnificat, but included Elizabeth's proclamation. Kinda a major goof in my opinion. Oh well - go see it, and Merry Christmas!
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