O Come, All Ye Faithful ... to a theatre near you

By JEFF GRAHAM
and SARA LOFTSON

Some of the greatest movies have helped bring Bible stories to life. Movies like The Passion of the Christ, The Ten Commandments, and Ben Hur have helped put sounds, images, and emotion to stories that are at the heart of Christianity.

The Nativity Story, a movie which will premiere Nov. 26, is eagerly anticipated by many Christians as the next great Bible story turned into a movie.

Keisha Castle-Hughes plays Mary and Oscar Isaac plays Joseph in The Nativity Story. The story of Jesus’s birth has been made into amajor motion picture by NewLine Productions.

Staff from the offices of the Archdiocese of Vancouver, including Archbishop Raymond Roussin, SM, were given the opportunity to preview the movie. It was well received by staff and the archbishop, and the general sentiment was that the movie has the potential to make a positive impact by bringing to life the story from the time of the annunciation to Jesus’s birth.

Of special note, The Nativity Story will become the first feature film ever to premiere at the Vatican. After its premiere, The Nativity Story is scheduled for a Dec. 1 release in the U.S., and around the world throughout the month.

The premiere, to be held at the Vatican’s Aulo Paolo VI (Paul VI Hall), will be attended by The Nativity Story’s director Catherine Hardwicke, actors Shoreh Aghdashloo and Oscar Isaac, producers Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, screenwriter Mike Rich, and 7,000 invited guests of the Vatican. The event will serve as a benefit, with contributions going toward construction of a school in the village of Mughar, Israel, which has a diverse population of Christians, Muslims, and Druze and is located approximately 40 km from Nazareth.

After watching a preview, Archbishop James Weisgerber of Winnipeg commented that although going to watch the film can’t be a substitute for reading the Bible, he found the film itself delightful.

“It provides interesting insights; lots of imagination is used. It’s clear some very good research has gone into this.”

Film should confirm faith, deepen devotion, priest says

Father John Perry, SJ, who teaches at St. Paul’s College at the University of Manitoba, saw the film with Archbishop Weisgerber. He plans to show the film as an education tool for his students.

“I can’t deny it’s Hollywood that made the movie, or that the company has to make significant profit or else they won’t keep on making these movies. That’s why it’s important we Evangelicals and Catholics support the movie.... If it doesn’t fly commercially that will be it for this kind of movie.”

Father Perry said the fact that the movie didn’t focus on Herod’s vices to create a more violent film showed it wasn’t meant to pander to a theatre-going public only interested in a violent action flick.

He added he had seen how Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ had a lasting effect on one of his non-religious students. “She just found it extremely high impact and she had to find out more about Christianity.”

This film, he said, could have a similar effect on the unchurched. For the faithful it will “confirm their faith, deepening their devotion.”

The Nativity Story chronicles Our Lady’s miraculous pregnancy and her arduous journey with Joseph to Bethlehem, followed by the history-defining birth of Jesus. The Nativity story stars Keisha Castle-Hughes as Mary, Oscar Isaac as Joseph, and Academy Award nominee Shoreh Aghdashloo as Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. The Nativity Story is directed by Catherine Hardwicke from a screenplay by Mike Rich.

With files from Sara Loftson, The Catholic Register.