Es begab sich aber zu der Zeit… (2006)

Es begab sich aber zu der Zeit…: Directed by Catherine Hardwicke. With Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar Isaac, Hiam Abbass, Shaun Toub. A drama that focuses on the period in Mary and Joseph’s life where they journeyed to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus.

“If you believe that Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus and everyone else in the actual events were white, Anglo-Saxon Europeans living in Central Park in New York or in California, you will be disappointed with this movie. If you want to see how people really appeared, lived and responded to the actual culture in Israel at the time of the birth of Christ, this is a work of art.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;The Nativityu0026quot; is an excellent depiction of the actual events as we know them from the Bible. While it has very minor u0026quot;flawsu0026quot;, these are buried under the number of things that make this film accurate and authentic.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMary does not wear her piety on her sleeve and get hysterical and dramatic at every turn in the story. Instead she is accurately portrayed and played as a simple peasant girl in a very traditional culture with strict rules of behavior. She responds hesitantly but with faith to the events that focus on her.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJoseph is equally realistic as a young peasant just beginning life, and any man who has ever faced marriage for the first time will appreciate the dilemmas facing Joseph and his reactions to them.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHerod is an historically-accurate and ruthless jerk, but the movie does not overdo his part. The balance is just right; heu0026#39;s on camera enough to convey his wickedness and his part in the plot, but not enough to distract from the message.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe wise men are great! Instead of being simple plastic figures in a nativity scene on your mantle, they really come to life, add a lot of context to the movie, and provide a lot of information about how and why things happened as they did. The timing of the wise menu0026#39;s arrival may be off – but no one is 100% certain when they did arrive so this is not a big deal.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhen the shepherds are visited by an angel to announce the birth of Christ, the angel is not followed visibly by u0026quot;a heavenly host praising Godu0026quot; – but you can hear them.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI could go on and on and on, but the point is that this is an excellent depiction of events that occurred in Israel 2,000 years ago. If you want to learn about and marvel at what life was really like at that time, see the movie. It will bolster your faith. If you want to see Adam Sandler playing a Jewish Santa Claus to celebrate Christimas, this is probably not the movie for you.”