Because of the flaws of this movie, and the effect it can have (especially subconsciously), it would be difficult to promote or recommend this movie...Of course, the USCCB's Office for Film and Broadcasting gives it a glowing recommendation. But then, can we really expect anything else from that group?
The new movie that debuted on December 1st, The Nativity Story, has received many positive reviews around the country already and also a fair number of attacks by the standard group of village atheists.
Criticisms notwithstanding, the movie certainly has many redeeming qualities to it including its portrayal of Joseph and the touching scene of Mary's visit to Elizabeth, but at the same time I feel it necessary to correct the record about its presentation of Mary. More to the point, twenty centuries of theological reflection on the Virgin Mary have been effectively glossed over in the movie, and we have been given someone's private interpretation of Mary's role in salvation history which does not match the public record of historical Christianity. The Catholic Church has made it clear from the beginning that we do not understand Jesus as a historical and theological figure without Mary, and so a Nativity story that gets Mary wrong also skews our understanding of Jesus.
For me, I prefer an unadulterated and authentic rendering based on the faith as handed on to us.
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