Mary and Joseph:
Humanity beneath the Halo

By Harrison Kramer, 11.29.06

A grueling 100 mile journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, a miraculous pregnancy and a history-defining birth bring to life the motion picture, “The Nativity Story.” The film brings a fresh perspective on the personal story of Mary and Joseph’s journey prior to the birth of Christ.

In a powerful presentation, this dramatic and compelling story produced by New Line Cinema features an international cast including Keisha Castle-Hughes as Mary and Oscar Isaac as Joseph.

The screenplay by veteran movie writer Mike Rich (“Finding Forrester” and “The Rookie") brings to life the events leading up to the nativity. A practicing Christian, Rich elevates this traditional story with an authentic feel of the culture yet he remains faithful to Scripture.

“If I was going to tackle this particular project there were going to be an enormous amount of speculative scenes,” Rich said. “So my goal was just to make sure that all of those scenes were very consistent in tone with the writings of Luke and Matthew.”

In his writing, Rich beautifully implies the characters humanity beneath their halos, and director Catherine Hardwicke can be commended for masterfully creating an emotional retelling of this celebrated Bible story. She skillfully allows us to feel what it would be like to live under the daily uncertainties of Roman occupation.

The audience can sense a troubled Mary forced to wed Joseph, an older, respectable carpenter. Hardwicke then takes us on their journey to Bethlehem after a census is decreed by Caesar Augustus. On their way they battle sandstorms, treacherous terrain, hunger and thieves.

The audience is visually treated to an impressive production with a backdrop from Matera, Italy, an ancient Italian town where Mel Gibson shot "The Passion of the Christ."

Hardwicke did not visually romanticize Nazareth or Bethlehem.

“Nazareth in reality was a poverty stricken, oppressed tough little town,” Rich said. “Catherine really took that visually to another level.”

Despite the quality of the film, it does contain some violent images. It opens with soldiers carrying out the command of King Herod to kill all the male babies in Bethlehem. The graphic moments briefly show the slaughter of the innocent and may upset children. Both Mary and Elizabeth's painful labor are also vividly depicted.

While critics believe that “The Nativity Story” will go into the annals of history as the must see movie of the Christmas season, others feel that’s for movie goers to decide. Will it rival the classics “It’s A Wonderful Life” and “White Christmas”? Only time will tell.

“The Nativity Story” received a Motion Picture Association of America rating of PG. It is scheduled for a December 1, 2006 release.