That said, I especially enjoyed the movie not for its cinematic excellence but for its portrayal of innocence in the face of evil. At the time of the miracle of Jesus' birth, the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph were just regular folks without 2,000 years of veneration on their shoulders. Just plain old Joseph and Mary, faced with a spiritual dilemma, to obey dreams and visions and suffer as outcasts in their community, or toe the worldly line and deny God's calling for them. As the movie unfolds, they support each other in their convictions, and do what must be done even though they are essentially the only ones aware of their "mission" (aside from Elizabeth).
The movie brought realism to the story. God uses ostensibly ordinary people to set in motion His grand plan. They become extraordinary only after they have accomplished God's task for them. What is more normal than a girl of 13 torn between the desire to frolic with friends and obedience to her parents. Or a new father-to-be panicing to get his wife to the birthing place?
The Nativity Story doesn't need to be a blockbuster to get my attention. Jesus was quietly born in a barn, attended only by His parents and farm animals, and soon thereafter by a small group of the highest and lowest in society. For me the movie is a beautiful Christmas card to be placed on my mantelpiece - I don't give a care if the card was made by Hallmark.
It appeals to me because it tells the human story of the birth of Jesus, how all of our souls hung in the balance. How the faithful obedience of two humble people overcame the grasping and murderous intent of Herod.
My family was extremely pleased with this movie. I urge you all to place your worldly cynicism aside and go see this movie through innocent eyes. You will love it.
I agree with Ol' Sox who wrote the above. I also did not regard the movie as a blockbuster, just a simple and beautiful story of the birth of Jesus. And what a birth it was. The sheer stunning exhilaration of seeing the baby Jesus being born brought tears to my eyes. I was also especially impressed with the actor who played Joseph.
After the movie, I couldn't help thinking that because of the birth of Jesus and his message of love and forgiveness, the world became civilized. I hope Christians around the world will go to see it. The theater where I saw it was not crowded.