A film for the entire family, Nativity not only portrays the oft-told journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, but also it captures powerful messages of faith, sacrifice and blessings. Nevertheless, the touches of melodrama in the depiction of angels and prophecy hamper the film’s otherwise solid tale.  M

December 2006

MoQuotable(s)

Contemporary Relevance?

Very few people have tackled this subject. People think that [most people know the story]. I don't know how many of us grew up Christian, but you don't really think about them as real people with problems [that] we would all have. You don't think about them on the first level as being Jewish. We barely know anything about the story, and we don't think very deeply about it usually, even though it's a beautiful, magical story that has endured forever.

 

I was captivated by just the story - just the beautiful relationship between these characters and how their love grew and each one had to have more strength and more courage to really stand up for each other. I love that part of it.

 

But now, going to Jerusalem, right off the bat, that's a part of the world that's in so much strife. The first passage opens with the prophecy in the bible that Israel will dwell securely. We haven't ever achieved that yet, and that's an important sacred place for so many religions. Yet why can't we get along and love the beauty of other religions and appreciate other people? I think it's an important time now for people to think about religion.
  Catherine Hardwicke (November 16, 2006, The Nativity Story Press Junket) 

 

I think the timing is perfect because - and this is one man's opinion - but when I take a look at the Christmas season now, what I see is this incredibly hectic time of year where we impose deadlines on ourselves. In a sense, we almost wish it away. How many times do you hear people say, "Oh, I'll be glad when this is over." As a person that cherishes the holiday myself, I don't want it to be over, but I want it to be taken in what I believe to be its proper context, which is to take a moment to reflect on these themes of faith and humility and courage, which I think are the centerpieces of the story and the centerpieces of a lot of faiths.
  Mike Rich (November 16, 2006, The Nativity Story Press Junket) 

 

What's amazing about this film is that it shows you what it costs them. It was a sacrifice. Had Joseph made a few different decisions, it may not even have happened.  Also, it's a love story. I think it's a beautiful, intimate, little story in the frame of an epic journey of these two people that are forced together and by the end become a family.

 

For me, the most moving thing about The Nativity Story is that it's about the power of humility.  That's the whole point of it all.  It's not the proud and the rich and the powerful and the superior that are exalted by God, it's the humble and the meek and those that act out of love.
  Oscar Isaac (November 16, 2006, The Nativity Story Press Junket) 

Joseph's Story?

I think that since it is this relationship, you realize that [Mary] didn't make that trip to Bethlehem alone. And if you want to look at it this way, God's plan was for her to have a partner to help her get through this. In a secular way, it's a beautiful relationship story. It's just the strength of the marriage and the love that these two people have for each other, or developed - in her case - she didn't have it at first. He showed by his actions much more than his words, what kind of a man he was, what kind of heart he had and that won her over.
  Catherine Hardwicke (November 16, 2006, The Nativity Story Press Junket) 

 

Touched by An Angel?

Catherine [Hardwicke] wrestled with that, because quite frankly, there have been very few satisfying angels cinematically. Alexander Siddig, the actor, he speaks in a soothing authoritative voice, has these eyes that go forever, so it helped us in that regard, but that's a challenging thing.

Mike Rich (November 16, 2006, The Nativity Story Press Junket) 

 

[The scenes with the Angel Gabriel were] a real struggle. You know...How much do you show and not show? How would an angel appear to somebody? That was a tricky thing. It's interesting to think of if you really go to the source material, the Bible. Every time an angel appears to somebody, he says, "Fear not." There has to be something a little exciting and electrifying when this person appears, so I tried to get a little bit of that feeling with the natural environment where you see the wind and you felt this presence of an energy when he comes near you. In the temple, it's the smoke or the olive branches. Try to think of the most beautiful, spiritual place and I found that olive grove and I thought, this might be the place that you could feel connected to that spirituality of another world. Then have it be a man that looks like the people, because at first people are scared, but then they do start listening and talking and interacting, so he probably did look like the people that he came to talk to.
  Catherine Hardwicke (November 16, 2006, The Nativity Story Press Junket) 

Audience Impact?

Well, I hope that people could think more deeply about faith, even about their faith, and what courage it takes sometimes to be different from others. You have to have that faith to believe and get you through. I hope that there is a message of tolerance because as we worked on the movie, we had people from all religions. We filmed in a Muslim country, and we had every kind of person working on the movie, including people that had no religious affiliation but had a spirituality or connection to this material in a way, and to the idea that there is something deeper and more important; there's some heart and soul. Also, the virtues of these people and the fact that they had courage to do things, like Joseph had courage. I hope people can feel it on many different levels.... So, it's a message of peace I think, which we need at this time.
  Catherine Hardwicke (November 16, 2006, The Nativity Story Press Junket) 

 

The last thing we wanted to do was to make a film that was really alienating in any way. The whole theme of this story is that it's for everyone. We mentioned in the film that it's for all mankind, so the last thing we wanted to do is alienate a certain faith and we wanted it frankly to be as accessible as possible to families. It's one of the reasons why we didn't push the slaughter of the innocents more and make it all the more graphic. It's a critical part of the story, but if we pushed it too far, we might have shut out a portion of the audience.
  Mike Rich (November 16, 2006, The Nativity Story Press Junket) 

That pride is a killer. That if you're humble and that's how you open up your heart, great things can happen.
  Oscar Isaac (November 16, 2006, The Nativity Story Press Junket) 

I'm hoping parents will bring their children to this film and allow them to empower their imaginations. On the other hand lets not forget that the Bible is a great source for Western literature. The way I approached the role, it was not religious, it was cultural.  After all, religion is a part of our culture, our upbringing and environment. I'm hoping parents will allow their children to get to see this film and empower their imaginations and for parents to ask this question - although we have lived for 2006 years, although our chariots have turned into cars and our four layers of pashmina and caftans have turned into beautiful and glamorous clothes, but what has changed inside me? I know we have gone as far as the universe, but have we been able to go inside for at least one inch? Those are the questions I'd like them to go home with.
  Shohreh Aghdashloo (November 16, 2006, The Nativity Story Press Junket) 

Genre(s)

Religious, Drama, Family

Director

Catherine Hardwicke

Writer(s)

Mike Rich

Producer(s)

Marty Bowen

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Producer

Wyck Godfrey

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Producer

Tim Van Rellim

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Executive Producer

Main Cast

Keisha Castle-Hughes

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Mary

Oscar Isaac

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Joseph

Hiam Abbass

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Anna

Shaun Toub

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Joaquim

Ciarán Hinds

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King Herod

Shohreh Aghdashloo

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Elizabeth

Alexander Siddig

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The Angel Gabriel

Nadim Sawalha

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Melchior

Eriq Ebouaney

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Balthasar

Stefan Kalipha

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Gaspar

Other Crew

Elliot Davis

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Cinematographer

Robert K. Lambert and Stuart Levy

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Editor(s)

Mychael Danna

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Music

Priscilla John, Mindy Marin, Juliette Ménager and Shaila Rubin

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Casting

Maurizio Millenotti

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Costume Design

Distributor

New Line Cinema

Release Dates

Filming Location(s)

• Craco, Matera, Basilicata, Italy

• Matera, Basilicata, Italy

• Morocco

DVD Extras

Not Available

Official Site

The Nativity Story