The Nativity
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 20.12.06This past week I had the opportunity to see the film The Nativity.
The intro struck me as rather odd, starting with the slaying of all male children in Bethlehem. Tragic, for sure, and it seemed to steal thunder from the film’s climax. That said, our initiation into the culture of the time is harsh and brutal, as people are hounded and persecuted by the ruling Romans. Women are taken, animals slaughtered, and men crucified by the side of the road. It perfectly sets up the expectant longing for a Messiah, and the political climate that acts as horrific backdrop to this incredible story.
It is easy to see the lengthy research invested in this movie. The rich tapestry acting as backdrop is so beautifully woven. At first I was really thrown by some of the costuming, as according to all of my own research, clothing was quite colourful. Cultures we like to imagine as sirene and aged, walking around in muted browns and dirty whites… were actually a garrish, tumultuous, and riotous conglomeration of vibrancy. However, there is colour in the film! Same with any other production, there’s art direction to the clothing. Our village folk are clean, pure, and the country side is beautifully simplified with various shades of white. As we near the cities, there are splashes of colour everywhere, growing to the riotous expectations of market places and palace intrigues.
Throughout the film, there are references to what Jesus will become and do (“This was to be God’s temple, not a marketplace!”), and things build nicely to culminate in the stable with it’s flawless beam of heavenly starlight. Drawing more from tradition than commonly accepted practicalities, the wisemen arrive minutes after the shepherds amidst the blinding shaft of light falling on the newly born King of Kings. It’s far more likely they arrived two years later (thus coinciding with Herod’s historic command to kill the toddlers, not the newly born children), but keeping things cronologically tight leaves the story nicely tied at the end, as Mary and Joseph flee to Egypt.
I was quite impressed with the landscapes and effects used throughout the film, with some lovely shots of Jerusalem. Watch and see how glorious it would have been to journey there on pilgramige, and see the City of God standing on a hill. Almost all the effects are naturalistic ones; matte paintings, models, environment enhancements. The angel interaction is more limited than the Biblical account found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but still nicely handled. Never complicated, it’s a simple cut between a bird flying over head, and a glowing messenger delivering the most astonishing news ever heard to mankind. “You will bear a Son… Emmanuel…”
Traditional Christmas music is woven in throughout the soundtrack. I rarely found it distracting, and on occasion found it fit perfectly; Carol of the Bells lends surprising immediacy during the frantic search for a room as Mary’s labor pains become worse. It’s a better scene than I would have expected, which I think can be said for much of the film. Though not easily approached purely as film, it works well as a nativity; it is the traditional story (though maybe not strictly historical nor Biblically accurate in all respects) come to life. It’s good, and I found myself emotionally tied to Joseph as the Son is born, and he finds himself witness to the greatest event in the history of the universe.
God, become Man, to save us…
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