The Nativity

by Pastor Tom

My wife and I took in The Nativity on its opening night. We were both a little surprised about how good it was. The filmmakers actually remained faithful to the subject at hand. It was indeed the story of the nativity, beautifully rendered like a fine painting set to music. Even the speculative conversations and circumstances that transcended the biblical material did not overshadow the heart of the story. I’ll probably see it again before it leaves the theaters.

The critics, on the other hand, didn’t care for it all that much. It was too boring, too dry. There wasn’t enough action. It simply wasn’t “Hollywooded” enough for their tastes.

The filmmakers could have kicked it up a notch. They could have introduced a trendy, adolescent character, the kind of aloof, irritating modern day youth that shows up in so many pictures, regardless of the historical setting. There certainly could have been more conflict. Joseph, for instance, could have had another love interest, which would have opened the door for a gratuitous sex scene and an eventual knock down, drag out fight with her live-in boyfriend.

Without a doubt, there could have been a sub-plot that involved revealing the truth about a church cover-up regarding the whole nativity story. Yes, that would be good. Mary could have had a boyfriend who was really responsible for the embarrassing pregnancy, and it could have been revealed that the early church fathers formed some kind of ridiculous club to rewrite the whole story for their own sinister purposes. And that would have opened up the possibility of yet another sex scene. And somehow, it seems, there could have been a few explosions, or chase scenes and maybe even a battle or two! Everything could have been put together in the typical flashing, MTV music video style.

Indeed, they missed a fine opportunity to please the critics. All they ended up with was a straightforward, artistic account of not just any story, but the greatest story. Well, if they have to mess up once in a while, I’m happy they did it with this film.