Fridae

You could call it the prequel to Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, but without the controversy surrounding the latter film or its director. The first film to premiere at the Vatican, any Christian would know the story well as it hss been told at nearly every Christmas pantomime.

But for the benefit of non-Christians, here is what happens: Mary is a young virgin (Keisha Castle-Hughes from Whale Rider) who is set up by her parents to marry the much older Joseph (Oscar Isaac), a man she hardly knows. But before they wed, Mary is visited by the angel Gabriel (Alexander Siddig). He tells her that God has chosen her to bear his son. While on the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem, Mary gives birth to a baby boy named Jesus who will eventually grow up to found the Christian faith.

Director Catherine Hardwicke has made a well-crafted and reverential film, one that is not likely to stir up any controversy. But despite being well-made, The Nativity Story also feels too classical and old-fashioned, as if it was made in 1950s or 1960s. While Christian viewers may enjoy it as a story of faith, non-Christians may find it uninspiring and possibly dull.