Nativity Story (2006)

"Inspirational and entertaining.  Bill Bregoli, Westwood One
"A film for all ages and faiths.  Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
"Your family will love this inspirational film.  Jeffrey Lyons, NBC's Reel Talk
"...a scrupulously accurate historical adventure story...with an exciting you-are-there verisimilitude.  Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter
"...the female other to Gibson's "Passion"...suffused with a sense of the womanly divine.  Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Editor's Note Following her depiction of youthful rebellion in the independent features THIRTEEN and LORDS OF DOGTOWN, Catherine Hardwicke takes an anomalous detour with THE NATIVITY STORY. A simple depiction of the Biblical tale told from Mary's perspective, the film lends realism and humanity to a story that is mythical in its proportions, with 16-year-old Keisha Castle-Hughes (WHALE RIDER) delivering a performance indicative of her star potential. The scene is set in ancient Nazareth, where the people live in poverty, oppressed by the heavy taxes and iron hand of King Herod. Herod himself lives in fear of a prophecy that foretells the coming of a great king, and is constantly tightening his grip on an already terrorized land. Mary is a young, virtuous, fun-loving girl whose family arranges her marriage to Joseph, a man she hardly knows but who promises to provide for her. Mary is unwilling, but her rebellion is soon eclipsed by a greater fear when the angel Gabriel appears to her and informs her of her destiny as the mother of Jesus. Having taken a vow to remain pure for a year, Mary is afraid of what the townspeople will do to her when they hear of her pregnancy. She goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who also carries a child given to her by God, and who offers her support and comfort. When Mary returns to Nazareth heavily pregnant, Joseph is consumed with jealousy and anger, and only when he receives word from God in a dream does he agree to claim the child for his own. Eventually, Herod decides to take a census in order to find the Messiah foretold in the prophecy, and Joseph and Mary set off on the difficult journey to Bethlehem. The way the couple's relationship progresses lends heart to the tale, and comic relief is provided by the three wise men (Nadim Sawalha, Eriq Ebouaney, and Stefan Kalipha), making this an effective, inspiring, and joyful rendition of the well-known tale.

	Ciaran Hinds
	Eriq Ebouaney
	Hiam Abbass
	Keisha Castle-Hughes
	Oscar Isaac
	Shaun Toub
	Shohreh Aghdashloo
	Stanley Townsend
	Catherine Hardwicke - Director
	Elliot Davis - Cinematographer
	Marco Trentini - Art Director
	Maria-Teresa Barbasso - Art Director
	Marty Bowen - Producer
	Mike Rich - Writer
	Mychael Danna - Original Music By
	Robert K. Lambert - Editor
	Stuart Levy - Editor
	Tim Van Rellim - Executive Producer

New York Times
"THE NATIVITY STORY sticks to the familiar details of the narrative and dramatizes them with sincerity and good taste." 12/01/2006 p.E1

Sight and Sound
"[S]tolid, well-crafted....Hardwicke does her best work here...with a handful of tender, low-key scenes..." 02/01/2007 p.67

San Francisco Chronicle 9 of 10
What could have been an after-school special or some somber straight-to-video exercise becomes, in the hands of screenwriter Mike Rich and director Catherine Hardwicke, a gritty and affecting picture that takes the story of Jesus Christ's conception and birth and depicts it as it might have happened. Its hard edges and unabashed piety will remind some of "The Passion of the Christ," but "The Nativity Story" has none of the neurosis or fetishism of the Mel Gibson film. It's also not a closed shop, catering to one specific vision of Christianity. It's a lovely thing aimed at everybody...By grounding everything that went before in an earthy realism, Hardwicke earns the elevation of the nativity sequence, one of the more beautiful scenes in this year's cinema. - Mick LaSalle

The Observer 8 of 10
Few films that open at Christmas are about the birth of Christ. Most centre on the so-called festive season. A couple of exceptions are the delightful British movie The Holly and the Ivy, first shown in December 1952, and Ben-Hur, which had its world premiere shortly before Christmas 1959...So there's a certain novelty about The Nativity Story, a modest work shot in Italy and Morocco, opening with the massacre of the innocents, then going back a year to the marriage of Mary and Joseph and ending with the flight into Egypt...the bickering Magi provide comic relief. The New Zealand actress Keisha Castle-Hughes, teenage star of Whale Rider, is a lovely Mary; Ciaran Hinds is a hissable Herod. - Philip French