Another holiday story comes loping in on its donkey—this one obviously hoping to reap a box-office triumph similar to Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ but without that movie’s politics or gore (or big-name director). Shooting in many of the same locales as Passion, The Nativity Story seeks to tell the simple tale of Mary and Joseph come to Nazareth to deliver the baby Jesus—and show the world that you can praise the Lord without whips and nails. Director Catherine Hardwicke’s previous work has been limited to well-regarded explorations of the world of troubled teens (Thirteen, Lords of Dogtown), a résumé that could make her the ideal choice for this story about a young woman impregnated (and no doubt tormented) by God.
Leave a Reply