AprilH

"The Nativity Story" is the first Biblically-based movie to be produced by a major film company since the epic "Ben-Hur" (1959). Epic "The Nativity Story" is not, at least not on the grand scale of "Ben-Hur" or "The Ten Commandments" (1956), with lavish sets and thousands of extras. No, the strength of "The Nativity Story" lies in giving us a glimpse of the real lives and real emotions of real people. Mary, a young girl forced into marriage to an older man she barely knows. Joseph, who chooses this girl because he sees in her a rare purity. Elizabeth, the godly older woman who understands Mary when no one else does. Joseph’s raw agony when he sees, in front of the entire city of Nazareth, that his bride has been unfaithful, and then his unbending commitment to his wife when he learns the truth. Mary, learning to love and trust and respect this man who is willing to share and posses her lifelong humiliation and ostracism from the people who were once her friends.

The film is simply and realistically set, and is supported by a strong historical context. The music in many places contains haunting reminiscences of well-loved Christmas carols.

As Christians, we believe "Jesus is the reason for the season," but we have heard the story so many times, it has become flat. "The Nativity Story" reminds us that the people God chose to take the most important roles in the birth of Christ were ordinary people like us with dreams, disappointments, hopes, and fears.