The Nativity Story (2006)
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
Mary and Joseph make the hard journey to Bethlehem for a blessed event in this retelling of the Nativity story. This meticulously researched and visually lush adaptation of the biblical tale follows the pair on their arduous path to their arrival in a small village, where they find shelter in a quiet manger and Jesus is born.
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4 films that influenced The Nativity Story
What critics say influenced The Nativity Story
Like any film, "Nativity" takes certain liberties, but it contains nothing that could make it as controversial as "The Passion of the Christ" or the earlier "Last Temptation of Christ."
Although one probably shouldn’t go into a film like “The Nativity Story” looking for some radical narrative approach, I kept waiting for it to demonstrate some reason as to why it was made in the first place, other than the fact that “The Passion of the Christ” demonstrated that a contemporary religious film could have a potentially strong commercial upside (especially with the absence of the relentless gore that marked “Passion”).
I thought "The Passion of The Christ" set a high bar for religious films and I wondered if this film could match it.
To the casual observer, it is without the distracting speculative filter imposed on "The Passion of the Christ," but, to be fair, "The Nativity Story" does tell the more upbeat narrative.
And it definitely lacks the pomp and circumstance that made arguable classics out of such films as the 1956 version of "The Ten Commandments."
Turning away from the splashy spectaculars of the Cecil B. DeMille school ("The Ten Commandments," "The Sign of the Cross," etc.), Hardwicke and screenwriter Mike Rich have opted instead for a reasonably realistic treatment of the story of Mary and Joseph.
I went into The Nativity Story, which is drawn from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, as a fan of the director, Catherine Hardwicke, who has made two startlingly close-to-the-bone youth-rebel pictures, the brilliant, lacerating Thirteen and the '70s skate-punk fantasia Lords of Dogtown.
Judging from her previous efforts -- the teen-in-peril flick "Thirteen" and the skateboarding opus "Lords of Dogtown" -- director Catherine Hardwicke isn't the logical choice to tell a reverential Biblical story.
No, the Virgin Mary doesn't get high on aerosol fumes, and Joseph doesn't ride in on a skateboard, but in most other respects, The Nativity Story is less of a departure for Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown director Catherine Hardwicke than one would have imagined.
…that the director of Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown might be able to bring a new perspective to the story of Mary, mother of Jesus â the ultimate troubled teen.
Hellraising director Catherine Hardwicke ( Thirteen , Lords of Dogtown ), who seems wrong for this material, paints everything in drab grays and draws unnecessary attention to her lead actors with cumbersome close-ups.
With a fresh approach to the birth of Jesus, Hardwicke (Thirteen) tells the biblical story with energy and spark, adding layers of meaning that give the film a bit of a kick.
In the past, Jesus films have generally sought to cover the whole sweep of the gospel story, whether according to one particular Gospel (e.g., The Gospel According to Matthew ; The Gospel of John ) or synoptically (e.g., King of Kings; “Jesus of Nazareth” ).