Nativity Story
Sounds promising.
[The script is] faithful and reverent to the Gospel accounts, but also brings Joseph and Mary's characters alive in a very human way. They wrestle with fears and doubts and anxieties, all within the framework of unshakeable faith.
We meet their parents and families, even before they're betrothed to one another. We're there for the awkward moment when Mary's father tells his daughter that she will be Joseph's wife. We're there for Gabriel's visit, for Joseph's dream, for the journey to Bethlehem—and the gamut of emotions that each experiences, every step of the way.
We get to know Elizabeth and Zechariah. We hit the road with the three wise men—Balthasar, Gaspar, and Melchior. We meet shepherds, tending their flocks by night. We go into Herod's palace and see what a despicable, paranoid man he really is.
Filming Mary and Joseph on the journey to BethlehemThere are playful, humorous moments. There are tension-filled scenes. And there is love, especially as shown on the arduous trek to Bethlehem, in which Joseph's tender care for his betrothed begins to shine as brightly as a certain star that has appeared on the horizon.
It's a Bible story. But it's a human story too.
"When you grow up in church, it becomes an objectified story," says Godfrey, the co-producer. "It's never told from Joseph and Mary's perspective; it's a story told without much conflict.
"But what would it be like to be 14 years old and go through what she went through? What would it be like to be a man and have your betrothed come to you and say she's pregnant—not by another man, but as an act of God?"
posted by Eric at Wednesday, June 07, 2006
2 Comments:
I've looked up the writer and director of this movie to see if I can get a feel of what it's going to be like. The director, Catherine Hardwick has worked on some extrodinary movies, unfortunatly as a production designer, but extrodinary movies none-the-less. As a director she did Lords Of Dogtown and most importantly (and I'm sure the reason why she got the job) Thirteen. Thirteen is about a (surprise) thirteen year old girl who is going through hardships. She's trying to fit in with the cool crowd but in the process destroys her family life and puts her own future in jeopardy. How old was Mary? 13/14? What a coincidence!
Now the writer is Mike Rich and he's written Finding Forrester, The Rookie and Radio. So basically a bunch of family friendly fluff (I never saw Radio but I heard that was the worst offenders of the three). Can he take such cherished scripture and turn it into Hollywood gold? I don't know but I'm definatly expecting a happy ending.
The main question is, will I go see it? Yeah, I'm sure I will. The question I should be asking is, will there be any bite to this movie...at all. I'm not talking about a few heated arguments, I'm talking about King Herod on a killing spree! I personally don't want things to be sugar coated so that 5 year old Jenny can go with the family after church although I'm sure that's how it will get made. I think Passion was so big because it went for the real story, not children's time before the Sunday sermon. My final verdict is that it'll be cool to see this story on film, but I'll have to start going to church every Sunday to pray to God if I want to see anything real miraculous in this movie.
Good points. It will be interesting to see how they appeal to church folks. Passion and Narnia didn't tone down action/violence, and they did quite well. If anything, they should play up the Herod thing, since I imagine that's where a lot of the tension is going to come from. If they try to play up and build tension on the "bastard son" angle, it's going to fall on deft ears to this culture, Christian or otherwise.
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