DeoOmnisGloria.com

The Nativity: A Hollywood Disaster

I wonder if the makers of The Nativity are wondering why their movie wasn’t the hit that The Passion was. Maybe. And the answer is so easy.

I just sat down and watched the movie for the first time on DVD – as the parents of four children, my wife and I don’t make it to the theater often. And frankly, I had been warned somewhat that the contents were problematic. However, I didn’t expect the movie to be as wrong as it was. And I do mean wrong.

I think a scene at the start of the movie helps to illustrate my feelings. Before Mary is betrothed, her father Joachim is apparently having trouble with the tax collectors who take his donkey. So a friend gives Mary back a donkey and asks her to tell her father that the Tax Collectors left it behind. This way, he reasons, Joachim will be able to keep his pride.

There’s so many things wrong with that scene, but what really bothered me is that Mary apparently agreed to lie to her father. To keep his pride in tact. Is this really the person God would choose to be His Mother? Not by a long shot.

And the problems with the movie continue from silly errors, like the Wise Men showing up the night of Jesus’ birth, to the offensive, like Mary’s attitude toward Joseph when they are first betrothed. If you’re going to backfill a story like this, why not backfill with the rich tradition surrounding the story of Jesus’ birth? And why not go for accuracy? Mel Gibson was rewarded financially for attempting to be as accurate as possible – and for building a story from the point of view of the believer. This story was built to entertain and even those tidbits meant to make the movie more dramatic were ridiculous: Mary attacked by a snake in the river, for example.

Ultimately, if you’re going to tell a story like this and get believers to watch, you need to have a believer writing the story. From what I’ve read, the writers and producers of this movie don’t attend any church and simply consider themselves “spiritual.” Surprise: the movie reflects this lack of commitment both to the Bible story and to the beauty of Jesus’ birth. What a shame: this movie could have been excellent, but instead was a waste of time. It was designed for those who don’t know the story and aren’t really concerned about the theology behind it.

My recommendation: don’t waste your time. And if you take others to see it, be sure to explain why it’s wrong afterwards.

God bless,
Jay