I don't know about you, but I have heard very little about The Nativity Story in the Christian Community. As a matter of fact, the first time I heard about it was when I happened to walk past a movie poster for it.  I have to admit that when I saw the movie poster I just assumed that it would be a poorly done movie trying to cast doubts on Christianity.  However, I came home and looked up a review online and I was intrigued.  It actually was a liberal review of the movie slamming Christianity, but all the points the reviewer was making made it pretty obvious that the story followed the Bible and the reviewer didn't!  Anyway, one day last week a local church put a invitation on our front door to a free showing of The Nativity Story at 9:30 a.m. Christmas Eve.  Cool!  Well, I am here to tell you it was a WONDERFUL movie!  We took the whole gang and each and everyone of us enjoyed it!  (Well, the 3 year old probably enjoyed the free snacks more than the movie, but he did sit through it!  LOL)  Anyway, I was very impressed with how closely the movie stuck to the Bible.  The filming was done beautifully. 

It is really 3 stories in one.  The 1st being the story of Mary and Joseph and they way this honor changes their lives.  The 2nd being the story of the wisemen and how they are following a prophecy and a star long before the Christ Child is born.  And the 3rd being the story of King Herod and his hate and jealousy for a prophesized King.  The story of Mary and Joseph was tender and hopeful.  The 3 wisemen showed the seriousness of what they were doing and made us laugh at the same time!  King Herod made us realize what a brutal and difficult times these people were living in. 

Yes,  know there has been some controversy over the actress who played Mary being an unwed pregnant mother during the filming, but in my opinion if we are only going to allow perfect people to act in movies we will all be sitting home never seeing another movie.  This movie was a true blessing for our family and I cannot wait for it to come out on DVD so we can watch it again and again!

Click here to view trailers and see scenes from the movie.