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In poverty-stricken Nazareth ,
Anna (Hiam Abbass) and Joaquin (Shaub Toub) tell their daughter Mary (Keisha Castle-Hughes) that economic necessities are compelling them to marry her off to Joseph (Oscar
Isaac). Mary is not warm to the idea of marrying someone she does not love, but concedes to her parents' wish. One particularly exhausting day, she is resting in the
olive grove when an angel, Gabriel (Alexander Siddig) appears and announces to her that the Holy Spirit will cause her to conceive. Her son will be named Jesus, and he will
be the savior of humanity. Troubled that she will be pregnant when she has not known any man, she nonetheless accepts the angel's pronouncement. To sort out her life,
Mary asks permission from her parents to visit with her cousin Elizabeth (Shohreh Aghdashloo) who is herself experiencing a similar miracle, six months pregnant in her
post-menopausal age by her aging and incredulous husband Zechariah (Stanley Townsend). Mary returns to her hometown with a bulging stomach, pushing her husband into a moral
dilemma.
Depth of characterization is the main triumph of this film. Lead actors particularly
Castle-Hughes and Isaac did an excellent job developing their characters---not an easy task considering that the story demands a great deal of emoting in close up shots.
These two young actors are great at evoking emotions in their respective roles. It must be noted, however, that because The Nativity Story draws from Scriptures---which do
not say much or enough for the movie's creators to claim authenticity in their version of the story---the movie therefore requires much extra-Biblical interpretations and
dramatizations to advance the plot credibly. These interpretations and dramatizations flow from fertile imaginations obviously dashed with faith, so, instead of judging the
movie as being faithful to the source or not, the viewer should look at the movie's asset, which is focusing on the birth of Jesus and the events surrounding it, and giving flesh
to the main characters in order to make the nativity story more real to the public. Acting is very well supported by the sets, costumes, other fine details of technical
production that really make the Holy Land of that time come alive on the screen.
The Nativity Story tells the story of Christmas beyond Christmas card prettiness and Santa Claus's
ho-ho-ho commercialism. It is edifying, to say the least, as proven by the audience reactions, both to its premiere and to its public showing. It's definitely a good
movie to watch for everyone in the family, although CINEMA would not advise parents to tote children below seven to the movie. Young children also will benefit much from
parental guidance in order not to be scared by the violence, such as the slaughtering of the newborns, and the abduction of young girls as a consequence of their parents'
inability to pay taxes.
(Date Reviewed: 07 November
2006)
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