The Nativity Story (2006)

A drama that focuses on the period in Mary and Joseph's life where they journeyed to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus.

Director:

Catherine Hardwicke

Writer:

Mike Rich

Stars:

Keisha Castle-Hughes, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Oscar Isaac

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keisha Castle-Hughes	...	Mary
Oscar Isaac	...	Joseph
Hiam Abbass	...	Anna
Shaun Toub	...	Joaquim
Ciarán Hinds	...	Herod
Shohreh Aghdashloo	...	Elizabeth
Stanley Townsend	...	Zechariah
Alexander Siddig	...	The Angel Gabriel
Nadim Sawalha	...	Melchior
Eriq Ebouaney	...	Balthasar
Stefan Kalipha	...	Gaspar
Alessandro Giuggioli	...	Antipas
Farida Ouchani	...	Ruth
Saïd Amadis	...	Tero
Maria Giovanna Donzelli	...	Mary's Friend

Storyline

In Nazareth, teenager Mary is betrothed to the local carpenter, Joseph. Mary is visited by an angel and told that she will fulfill a prophecy and as a virgin give birth to God's son, the savior of the world. Mary's pregnancy brings her the scorn of the community and Joseph struggles to believe her seemingly outlandish story. Meanwhile, a census forces every man and his family to return to his place of birth. Joseph and Mary set out on a long and arduous journey to Bethlehem. This story is based on the Biblical account of the birth of Jesus Christ.

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Plot Keywords:

palestine | nazareth israel | star | f rated | year 1 | 

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Taglines:

Her child would change the world.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy | History | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some violent content

Did You Know?

Trivia

The soundtrack incorporates multiple different traditional Christmas carols, including "Sing We Now of Christmas", "What Child is This?", "Coventry Carol", "Carol of the Bells" and "Silent Night".

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Goofs

In the beginning when the King's son is saying the prophecy will end tonight the son is on the right. A year later in the movie when that scene was being played again he was on the King's left.

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Quotes

King Herod: I will end this threat to my rule.
[Herod then sends all his guards to kill any child under 2 years old - or any woman carrying a child]
Townswoman: No, not my child.

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Connections

Featured in Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema: Mark Kermode's Christmas Cinema Secrets (2018)

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Soundtracks

In Rosa Vernat Lilium
(The Rose and the Lily)
Music by Mychael Danna
Lyrics by Elizabeth Danna
Performed by Azam Ali
Azam Ali appears courtesy of Six Degrees Records

User Reviews

Finally, a Christmas film without Santa Clause.

While in Hawaii recently, I had a chance to preview The Nativity Story, in its complete form, which, surprisingly, turned out to be quite a good film. I guess as a Christian, I am going to be seen as biased. And that's fair, however as a filmmaker as well, I will say that the majority of Christian or Christian based films I have seen are quite simply lower grade movies. That's why, this one in particular was very refreshing.

The story itself of course I was familiar with having grown up hearing it every Christmas time. And, surprisingly, I think it translates very well onto the screen. I was surprised at the humour they were able to bring out (mainly with the Three Kings storyline) and I was actually quite impressed with the movie in general. It was nice to see actors of the correct age and race. Jesus was not white, despite what some may say.

The movie was not perfect, few are. It was obviously PG friendly as there were a few things that were toned down (I guess babies in that day didn't have umbilical cords), but do we really need to see that? No, not really. All in all it was a very enjoyable film that hopefully makes its way as a holiday classic for years to come.

Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Films [France] Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Hebrew

Release Date:

1 December 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nativity

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,025,000, 3 December 2006

Gross USA:

$37,629,831

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$46,432,264

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Sound for Film, Temple Hill Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1